Broken
by KuroUsagiko
Summary: Yuki's never really had the best life ever since her family was torn apart by her stepfather and was taken away along with her younger sister. Now she's struggling to fight her inner demons and juggling life or death priorities while in high school. Enter IV Arclight, an unlikely person to fill the empty hole in her heart, but while she's broken, he's determined to save her. AU
1. Chapter 1: Meetings Past

**Hey guys, so this is basically my first story so please feel free to give me advice, but no flames please! Alright so I'll keep this really, really short because I have no idea what else to say hahaha.**

**And as always, I don't own anything or anyone from Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal or else for IV would be MINE! Anyways, let's start off this chapter my lovely little readers!**

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**Yuki's POV**

The morning sunlight poured through my window as I kicked off my warm cocoon of blankets and dragged my tired body into my bathroom. Rubbing my eyes, I went through my morning routine of scrubbing my body raw and and untangling the mess that people called hair. Taking my straightener to my hair, I looked in the mirror and sized myself up. I wasn't looking at my skinny body or how curvy I was. No, I was looking at all the ugly bruises that marked me. There was a huge purple bruise where my ribs were and a hand shaped mark wrapping around my left arm. On my wrists, vertical lines that I always made sure to hide. Each little line from my razor reminded me of how many times I hit rock bottom and there were plenty to show. I sighed as I took my concealer and put some on the bruises and scars so they wouldn't show when I went to school.

I pulled on my outfit for the day, a white button up long sleeved shirt with my black blazer with the Heartland Academy emblem and black and blue cuffs and black slacks because I couldn't stand wearing one of their hair was in its usual high pony tail tied with my long, silvery ribbon. Before I left my room I snatched up my backpack and guitar case that laid on the floor of my room.

I walked through the hallways of our dingy home and tried not to inhale the scent of alcohol into my younger sister's room. Pulling out the key from under the mat I unlocked her door and shook her awake.

"Sissy?" Hana muttered tiredly. I nodded and pulled her out of bed. "Five more minutes please?" she asked sweetly clinging to her bed frame.

I took the sketch pad on her nightstand and wrote soundlessly, "No, we're already running a bit late." showing the pad to her. She looked more awake and much more aware of our timely schedule. She ran to the bathroom and slammed the door shut. I shook my head and started walking to the kitchen to make a quick breakfast for myself and her.

I decided to just fix us some sandwiches since our so called father would not be at home for the day. He had stormed out during the night before because I couldn't get his beer fast enough and beat me a bit before leaving. I despised him not because he hurt me, but he was a constant danger to my young eight year old sister. I did mind that I couldn't speak anymore and had to use a friggin' sketch pad to talk to people. I put the makeshift breakfast on some actually clean plates and sat down waiting for Hana so we could finally get some food.

"Good morning!" said Hana cheerfully skipping to our small dining table. "Thanks for the food!" she said brightly clapping her hands together and digging in to the food. I smiled a bit at her behavior and silently ate my ham sandwich.

After we finished eating Hana washed the plates while I went to my room to see if I had left anything. My brown eyes scanned the messy room. Clothes were thrown on the floor in a flurry, the bed was still unmade, and my desk was covered in scratch paper and textbooks from the night before. I would have to clean it when I had more time. I felt slightly grossed out by how messy it was. Normally, it was all spick and span with clothes in the proper place, books in the ceiling high bookcases one corner, my blue sakura themed bed was made and instead of paper over my desk my laptop and various cd's were on there. With my assessment done I picked up my favorite black hoodie off the bed and rushed out the house to walk Hana to school.

* * *

"So how has school been, little sister?" I asked showing her the sketchpad. We were almost there and I felt like we shouldn't be walking in silence.

Hana smiled up at me and said, "Its pretty fun. The teachers are letting us finally do some art projects. What about you Sissy?"

I squeezed her hand and answered, "Its fine. Its just school." And it was. I didn't mind the fact that I didn't really have any friends in this school, my other friends just happened to be in another city altogether. I didn't mind the hushed whispers that I heard when I passed by other students as they called me a freak when I walked passed nor did I care about the difference of treatment from my teachers and their glares.

It was just school and that was all that mattered.

We arrived by the grand gates of Heartland Academy, home of the rich and snooty. Well, rich and talented, but mostly snooty. We gave the security guard our ID's and walked through the iron bars. The school was divided into four sections: preschool, grade school, high school and college. The grade school section was fairly large for just a bunch of kids and don't even get me started on the high school section. Now that was big. There were a little more than a thousand high schoolers and there were plenty of courses to take. Since Heartland Academy was a creative arts school it was just the thing Hana and I needed to get out the stress of home. Well, Hana anyways. I, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky.

* * *

I dropped Hana off at her homeroom and after a quick hug and 'have a good day!' I walked towards the East wing that held my first period class. English was a fun class itself that I loved but the teacher who taught made class horribly boring. Half the time I even fell asleep in that she-witch's class but I still managed to hold onto number one in her class. I sighed to myself and slid the door open to find that class had already started and everyone was staring at me like I killed someone in cold blood. I rolled my eyes and glared wanting so badly to say, "Hey! If you like me so much then take a picture, it'll last longer!" But I couldn't so I held back and walked over to my desk in my little corner.

"Hey look the crazy's here!" came an annoyingly familiar voice.

'God, today is just not my day.' I thought to myself staring at my desk. Oh joy, Miss I-Get-Everything-I-Want was speaking to me, how lovely. Insert sarcastic tone. I wonder if I hit my face hard enough on my desk I would die and not listen to her horrid voice for the rest of the day. Nah, I'd just get locked in a loony bin.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!" called blondie aka Ana Kemi the 'queen' of the school, stalked up to my desk with her hands on her hips looking like I should be amazed that she was gracing me with her presence. Insert sarcastic tone. Again.

"Do I look care?" I wrote on my sketchpad. I mean, seriously, if you couldn't tell from my blank stare and the fact that I really hate your guts then you must have reached a new level of stupidity.

"God, what's with you! I'm only trying to make a conversation." she stated in a matter of fact tone. I snorted at her amazing conversation skills. Oh yeah, because making a conversation involves talking in a really annoying tone and embarrassing someone in front of the entire class. I'm sure the girls you pay to be your friends must love you. "Ugh, no wonder no likes you," she continued "I guess that's why your entire family is full of loonies."

At this point, I had enough about her self-righteous attitude, so I did the most sensible thing a girl in my position could do.

I punched her in the face.

Ana let out the most girliest shriek I have ever heard and started flailing her arms wildly at me like a five year old who didn't get what they wanted. I didn't even have to block her attack, it was just that sad and it didn't hurt at all.

Finally, Kanade-sensei* put a stop to all of it and pulled us apart. Well, her apart, I was still next to my seat. "Shiragane! Get out of my class this instant!" she exclaimed furious at me like I was the one who interrupted her class by making a scene for ten minutes and started a fight. She then proceeded to coddle the crying (probably fake tears) Ana and told her to go the infirmary. I sighed and and grabbed my bags and walked out of the class. I could still hear her yelling at me to go the Headmaster's office, I really could have cared less, so I went to my usual spot; the roof.

* * *

Lunch rolled by quickly as I woke up from my much needed nap. Stretching my tired limbs, I enjoyed the peace and quiet of the roof.

Suddenly, the door that led to the roof was forced open (it's normally locked but I know how to pick locks) and in came someone I didn't expect. It was was one of the most popular guys of our school although I couldn't really remember his name. Everyone knew who he was, but it struck me odd as to why he was here.

"Oh thank God no one's-" he started but instantly paled when he saw me. I blinked as brown eyes met violet. "Okay," he started "Don't scream okay? I'll give you anything you want- just don't tell anyone I'm here." he said.

"..." I blinked once, twice until realization hit me like a ton of bricks. He thought I was one of his fangirls. I felt like puking in disgust. Me? A fangirl? Oh good lord.. I decided it would be better if I acted like I didn't hear him, so I turned away from him and focused on my IPod instead. I was already having a terrible day and now I can't even have a moment of peace around here.

I thought blondie here would just leave and find a new hiding spot, but no, my life just has to be full of bad luck. Instead of leaving like I had hoped, he started poking me and calling weird names.

"Hey, listen here you ignorant pig, not everyone is obsessed with you and your enormous ego you got that?!" I scribbled onto my sketchpad angrily, shoving it in his face. I was more than a little cranky after today's incident and I was not in the mood to play games with some two toned haired, egotistical jerk. He stared at me with open mouthed shock. Ha! I guess there's a first time for everything pretty boy.

I smirked slightly and returned to what I was doing before. My gaze moved over to the vast view of the school. Even though the school itself sucked, it was pretty nice to look at. The building that looked like they were made for royalty, the pretty garden down below us with every flower you could imagine, the laughter, the scenery was- wait, laughter? What laughter? I turned to see that pretty boy next to me was basically dying of laughter, clutching his stomach in a sad attempt to calm down.

"Hahaha! Y-your- ahahaha!" he tried to say but ended up laughing like a crazy person. Um, okay? This isn't weird and creepy at all… He finally settled down and said, "You're not like the others are you? You don't treat me like they do. You must be special." he winked at me before chuckling to himself.

"Yeah, well not everyone will bow their heads to the rich and powerful." I wrote, not caring for his obvious attempts to woo me. I sighed and continued, "When are you gonna leave me alone now? Your girlfriend might be looking for you.  
"

The blonde and purple haired boy merely shrugged, "I could care less. She's only a fling." I was about to tell him off, being a female and all, but he cut me to the chase.

"Why are you up here?"

"...I punched a girl in the face and I hate people."

"Oh, so you're the one who beat up my girlfriend, huh?" he said. In my opinion she deserved it and so much more. I was surprised at how amused his tone was, like he didn't care like I just punched his girlfriend. "Nice right hook by the way." he continued with a grin.

"Um...Okay?" I wrote.

He ignored my comment and pulled out his obento* and opened it, ready to eat.

"Want some?"

"Nope."

"You look like you're anorexic."

"I'm quite healthy, thank you very much."

"When are you gonna pull down that hoodie so I can actually see your face?"

I blinked. I had forgotten I kept my hoodie up so the sun wouldn't get in my eyes. I contemplated the pro's and con's of showing him my face. I could get jumped and get beaten to a bloody pulp for beating up his girlfriend, but I didn't feel that vengeful vibe coming from him so I slowly pulled down my hood.

"Huh, so you're actually a girl?" he grinned at me teasingly. I felt a vein pulse in my temple and punched him the arm.

"Call me a boy again, and you'll see how good my right hook can get!"

"I think I just did…" he whimpered rubbing his arm. Oh yeah, poor pretty boy. Next time, I'll punch him in the face. Then he wouldn't be so pretty and maybe even deflate his ego. Hmm… So many good ideas, so little time.

We sat in semi-comfortable silence as he ate some of his lunch and I turned back to listen to the music on my IPod and silently stealing a few foods from his lunch.

"Whatcha listening to?' he asked.

"Nothing you would know. It's an American band."

"Try me." he dared.

"This Song Saved my Life by Simple Plan." He probably didn't know the band. It was from America and even though they came out in the '90's though no one really knew them.

"Are you kidding? I love that band!" he said excitedly.

"What's your favorite song then?" I wrote. I was skeptical about his answer, I mean even some of her friends didn't even know this band.

"Crazy. The guitar is really good."

"I like that song too." I wrote quietly, smirking up at him a bit. And that was how we started our very long conversation of our favorite bands and how no one understood our love for music.

"You play guitar, right? I mean you have the case for it." he asked gesturing to my guitar case I had next to me.

"Electric and acoustic. I'm not that good." I shrugged. I really didn't want anymore people knowing how well I could play and sing.

"Hey, are you actually a mute?" he asked me bluntly, looking into my eyes.

I was about to reply when the shrill sound of the bell sounded. Lunch time was over. I looked over to him and shook my head and showed him a messy scrawl that said, "Another time." he nodded at my answer and gathered up his bag and started to walk to the door.

"What's your name?" he called over his shoulder, hand already at the door handle.

"Yuki. Shiragane Yuki." I wrote with my usual blank stare once again.

"IV. IV Arclight." He responded to me.

"What a weird name. Who names their child a number?" I wrote.

"It's not my actual name. I just like being called that. Maybe I'll tell you my real name another time."

"Another time, then", nodding my head as I watched him flash me quick smile before going down the stairs.

'What a weird guy.' I thought to myself as I waited for the end of school to pass by. Things were going to get interesting, I could feel it.

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_Obento_\- home packed meal of Japanese cuisine. Normally consisting of rice, fish or meat, and pickled or cooked vegetables in a box-shaped container.

_Sensei_\- Teacher

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**So this is the end of chapter Numero Uno! As always, R&amp;R and click that beautiful little favorite button and give my story a little loving. Hope you guys liked my story and if you didn't, thanks for giving it a shot. Later guys!**


	2. Chapter 2: Changes

**Broken Chapter Two**

**Alright, chapter 2 is finally here! Hooray! Before I start, I want to thank everyone who reviewed and/or favorited my story. Well, with nothing more to say enjoy the story~  
**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from Yugioh Zexal. I only own my OC Yuki, and that is all.**

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**Yuki's POV**

'_Damn it.' _I cursed silently in my head. Taking a sip out of my coffee, I twirled the pencil around in my hand in an attempt to calm my nerves down.

I was off work from the library (you'd be surprised how much I could do without speaking) and was in this quiet little cafe called TaiRen where I was finishing off the last of my homework I was assigned and now a migraine was making it's way towards me. Pre-Cal was evil, English was boring me to death, and now history wanted to burn me alive. Miss Shia Fumiko, my history teacher, that sick, horrible woman apparently thought it would be better if I 'interacted with my peers more often and speak more.' What the hell? I'm mute for God's sake!

Anyways, Fumiko-sensei assigned us a group project where we had to work with partners and pick a country and compare it with Japan. The cultural differences and all that jazz. Well, I had the luck being paired with Mihael Arclight, IV's apparent little brother.

Speaking of the two toned haired idiot, we somehow became friends just a few weeks ago. How he became a constant in my ever changing schedule was amazing. Especially how he stuck around with my moodiness. I remembered like it was just yesterday.

_Flashback_

"_Favorite color?" he asked me, voice muffled by the food in his mouth._

"_Blue, black, silver, grey, and white." I wrote on my sketchpad._

"_Favorite class?"_

"_None. School is stupid. I like music though."_

"_Least favorite?" _

"_Algebra is Satan."_

"_Ah. Okay. You're not curious about me?"_

"_Mm'kay. What about you then?"_

"_IV Arclight, 17. Favorite colors: gold and purple. And school is indeed stupid and we worship Satan."_

_"Yup." I wrote onto my sketchpad. I chuckled a bit at the lopsided grin he had on his face. I could feel the corners of my lips turn up a bit at his silliness. I felt warm inside, unlike the frigid cold. I was not 'empty' at this instant. I closed my eyes to savor this bit of warmth, before I would once again feel 'cold.'_

"_So?" IV asked, violet clashing with dull brown._

"_Hmm?" I wrote quietly._

"_Shouldn't you be asking me something?"_

"_So is your hair really natural?" I wrote jokingly. He let out a rather unattractive grunt and punched me in arm. This was normal ever since our first 'meeting' here on the roof. He would joke and tease, while I would throw a sarcastic or rude comment here or there. He was just as crude when he came to me. We would spend our lunches with each other like this. It would feel nice._

"_Actually it is. Dunno how, but yah." he stated with a small smirk. "Anyways, do you wanna be friends?" _

_He wanted to be friends with me? Me? How was this even possible? I sat there quietly knowing he was watching me, waiting for my reply._

"_..." was what I wrote on my pad. I somehow felt small at this moment. Most people who asked this question would later become bored with my blank stare and rather sarcastic comments. Would IV last? That was the question._

_I took a deep breath and silently, gave a tiny nod. I hoped he hadn't seen it and just leave but he did see it. I inwardly groaned and cursed my crappy luck. Why me?_

"_Friends then." IV said. It was not a question. It was a statement. He extended his hand and I slowly took it. I didn't meet his eyes. All I remembered was the warmth of his hand slipping into my cold one._

_End Flashback_

I tried not to feel to happy about that one moment. I would not be too alone from now on. I would have his support. I sighed as I payed the waitress for the food and coffee. Slinging my messenger bag over my shoulder, I grabbed my guitar and waked in the direction the Arclight home.

* * *

A good ten minutes later, I arrived at the Arclight home. Well more like friggin mansion! It was a huge Victorian style mansion that had a yard filled with pretty flowers and on one side it was large fountain. I walked up the concrete steps up the towering building and rang the doorbell.

After a minute or two, I heard footsteps coming towards the door. A man who liked his was in his early twenties opened door. He was probably the older brother IV had told me about before.

"Who are you?" asked the man. Sheesh. Why the hell was he so damn tall? I cursed inwardly being so short.

I quickly pulled out my sketchpad and scribbled, "Yuki Shiragane. Mihael's classmate."

He stared me down for a bit before telling me to come in. "I'm Christopher Arclight, though you can call me Chris. I'm Mihael's older brother." he introduced himself to me. I nodded and bowed in respect. He called for Mihael to come down and as I waited, I took to watching the older Arclight. He looked about 6'7 and had the longest silver hair I have ever seen; it reached to his ankles and he had blue eyes. Chris carried an air of elegance and grace unlike his two other brothers who seemed less refined than he was.

I heard footsteps coming from the stairs and I turned to look. The pinkette was walking down the stairs with an aged man with a light brown braid and a monocle over his left eye.

"Hello, Yuki-chan." Mihael greeted me. I nodded at him and he smiled kindly at me. "I see you've met my nii-sama*. This is my father." gesturing from Chris to the older man.

"Hello, Shiragane-san. I'm Byron Arclight, Mihael's and Chris's father." Byron said pulling my hand in a handshake. "I hope you're comfortable here, and if you and Mihael need anything just call me over and I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you both for your hospitality." I wrote and bowed to them both. After that Mihael brought me to the living room where we could work on our project. I sighed. Even though they were treating me so kindly, I had a sort of bad feeling about today. It was gonna be a long day.

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**IV's POV**

I had just finished my shower when I heard laughter and talking downstairs. If I remembered correctly, Mihael did say something about someone coming over for a project. I shrugged on some clothes and went down to get some food.

Walking down the steps, a very familiar person came into my view. What the hell was she doing here? Since I was already down the stairs and I decided to voice my thoughts.

"What are you doing here?" I asked Yuki, waiting for her to reply. I decided that the color black both suited and didn't suit her at the same time. She was wearing long sleeved black hoodie and dark washed skinny jeans. Her feet were bare but I could see the black boots at the doorway. The only thing that could possibly stick out from her presence was the long white ribbon that she always wore in that ponytail of her's.

"Project." was the only word written on her sketchpad. She jerked her thumb to my baby brother and proceeded to sit cross-legged on our carpet.

"You sure?" I said with a smirk playing on my lips. "You didn't miss me at all?'" I finished and I already knew I was gonna get punched for this little act. Her reactions were always so amusing to me.

An angry tick mark appeared on her head and I could see her eye already twitching. How _attractive._ I quickly turned my laughing fit into a coughing one if I wanted to survive the brunette's unleashed wrath.

She walked up to me, paused, looked at my face and smirked, and knead a place that no man should _ever _be kicked in. I hissed in pain and grabbed in between my legs. _God. _Why the bloody hell did she kick so damn hard. I regret that decision so much now. I was currently rocking back and forth like the coward I was and glaring at that evil _devil spawn _in front of me.

"Don't feel so arrogant now do ya?" She wrote with a smug little smile that I really wanted to wipe off but couldn't because I was such a gentleman. I was about to cuss her out and tell her if I couldn't have children, I would sue her entire family when Chris cut in.

"You guys know each other?" He started slowly with a raised brow. My baby brother and father stood there in the room in wide open mouthed shock and eyes the size of frying pans.

"Long story." I grumbled sourly struggling to find my footing without feeling anymore pain. The she devil just nodded and sat back down on the floor like nothing just happened. I hate her. I narrowed my eyes at her and stomped angrily back to my room. forgetting about my hunger in order to plot her death.

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**Mihael's POV**

I'm sure that I can speak for both my brother and father when we witnessed the scene that unveiled in front us. I hadn't known that Nii-sama would act that way to Yuki-chan and I certainly didn't think that the quiet girl in my class would do such a thing. Well, except that incident Ana. I was shocked.

My brother stomped back to his room and my partner sat back down. Both my brother and father shared a look with me and then walked out of the room leaving only silence. Clearing my throat, I offered an uneasy smile to the bored looking brunette and sat down next to her.

We had already decided after class that I would do the powerpoint of the project while she did storyboard part of it since I wasn't very creative. We decided that we would compare Venice with Japan since it would be semi-easy and we could get this over with.

I was pretty wary with project because it was, well, with Yuki. She wasn't the easiest person to talk to exactly, but I guess since she got along with brother (were they even friends?) she was okay. I watched her for a bit before she turned and cocked an eyebrow in my direction.

"Yes?" she wrote. I wondered if she could really speak. No one really knew since she hung out alone and never really interacted with anyone.

"Uhhh...Umm. Howdoyouknowmybrother?" I stuttered out. I inwardly face-palmed at my stupidity. She probably thought I was an idiot.

"Circumstances." she wrote easily. She glanced at me again before writing, "I don't bite y'know."

I blinked. I guess she wasn't bad at all. "So you guys are friends?" I smiled at her. She nodded and glued a picture onto the cardboard.

I continued asking her questions like this and slowly, I became less nervous and confident in my questions. I learned that her parent's were divorced like mine and that she used to speak but because something happened to her when she was younger. Yuki was actually very polite and we actually had fun together doing the project. I was a bit sad when we both finished our parts and she said she was leaving.

"Yuki-chan, would you like to stay for an early dinner?" my father asked poking his head through the doorway. The brunette looked flustered and answered that she didn't want to impose any longer then should while my father dragged her to our kitchen not really caring for her answer.

* * *

"So Yuki-chan what does your step-father do for work?" Father asked the bored looking brunette.

"Yes. I would like to know as well." Chris chimed in with a smile.

"Um. He fixes locks and stuff." she wrote simply. Her eyes told another story though. They looked wary and guarded all of a sudden.

"And what do you do for work, Byron-san?" Yuki asked directing the attention away from herself. I think IV nii-sama also knew what she was doing because he stopped shoveling food into his mouth (Even with guests here, he couldn't have manners) to look at her.

And that was how dinner dinner went for about the rest of the hour. Whenever my father or Chris nii-sama would ask something about her going mute or her family she would immediately turn the attention back to someone else in the room. I found it rather odd.

"I'm glad you're here today, Yuki-chan. It's so rare to have guests over and our dinner's are never so lively." Chris nii-sama smiled serenely.

"Umm...Thank you Chris-san. What time is it exactly anyways?" Yuki wrote suddenly.

My brother's brow suddenly creased in worry when he responded, "It's 5:34. Why do you ask?" he stated.

Instead of answering she quickly shot up from her seat and ran to get her bags. My brothers and father were quite surprised when she did that.

"I'm sorry, but I have to get home." she wrote in a messy scrawl. She looked pale as a ghost and wore a look of complete dread; what was wrong?.

"I'll walk you out." IV suddenly said, standing up from his seat.

She shook her head no and quickly ran out the kitchen to get her shoes before bowing and running out of the house. My family stood there all in stunned silence. We all wondered what could have possibly spooked her so much that she had to get home in such a hurry.

* * *

The next morning, I saw her again, standing in the middle of the hallway looking very flustered.

Juggling my bookbag and our storyboard from yesterday, I walked up to her to ask her if she was alright and if she got home properly. We were all worried about her sudden need to get home and if something had happened to her.

"Yuki-chan are you alright? You left in such a hurry." I voiced my thoughts with worry evident in my eyes. I made sure to look her in the eyes so that I could tell if she was lying or not.

She did not respond but only pulled out a large book from her bag. "Here. Give it to your older brother and father. They wanted this book, didn't they?" she wrote with her lips pursed in a thin line. She did not meet my eyes. "I'm sorry for leaving all of a sudden. I had things to take care of." she continued on vaguely.

"Of course." I said simply giving her a false smile while I took the book from her hands. She was hiding something, that I was sure. You don't just run out of someone's house with a terrified look to just take care of something. I had only known her a day but I felt like Yuki was a person who did get scared very easily and I also wanted to be her friend even if no else would.

"Yuki-chan, is something the matter?" I said politely. I was determined to unravel the mystery of Yuki Shiragane and get to bottom of why she was just so afraid. What was she so terrified of?

Something flickered in her eyes before she turned and walked away. She never answered my question, but I have plenty of chances to ask her again. In the back of my mind, I realized I never noticed how she was limping and cradled her shoulder until it was too late.

* * *

_Nii-sama_\- formal way of saying elder/older brother in Japanese

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**Okay, chapter 2 is done and I'm tired as hell. Summer school is horrible and 6 hours of health is just bloody hell. Sigh...Well, at least I have you strawberry Sunkist. *looks at inanimate object lovingly* Yeah, this is me tired and a bit loopey without coffee. Anyways, hoped you liked that chapter and clicked that pretty little favorite button. If anyone has any questions/comments/advice, just tell me and I'll respond to you in a PM or something. No flames please. See ya!**

**-XxStarryHeavenxX**


	3. Revelations

**Hey guys. So pretty much after a month or so, I'm finally back. As to why I took so long to actually write this is basically because I'm in this summer program Monday-Friday and I live on the college campus and only come back on Friday's at five. I'm wiped during that time cuz I take the classes I'll be taking after summer is over in my own high school. Annnd sadly, they don't allow any electronics or else I'd get kicked out. So, yeah, that's the story. Hope you guys don't mind too much. I'll try to update faster in the future. And now, onto the story and enough of my lame excuses!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal or any characters with the exception of my OC.**

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**Normal POV**

_'I don't want to look at anything. I don't want to hear anything' _the brunette girl thought bitterly to herself. Yuki felt like utter complete shit at the moment. She had literally clawed her way up the stairs and into the bathroom, just to shove her head into the toilet bowl and puke her guts out. She choked out a bitter laugh and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. _'Anything to get away from that monster, right?'_

Taking a hold of herself, she took a few shaky steps and grabbed her razor from her hiding spot. _'You're worthless. Really. A waste of space...Just like that whore of a mother of your's.' _voices swarmed the girl's head, sneering at her and laughing at her frightened form. Yuki remembered the pain of literally being kicked down when she was down. Punches thrown and curses were drilled into her already broken mind as she desperately prayed that _thing_ didn't touch her little sister. If he so much looked in her direction...

_'No, no, no...That wouldn't happen. Couldn't happen!' _The brunette groaned and put her head into hands. With trembling hands, she took up the fallen razor and pressed the blade against her wrist and watched as the ruby lines began to form over her wrist. Over and over again she would watch as the blotchy red lines formed on her wrists. All she could make sense of for the moment was the one single voice urging her to continue and make herself bleed, to take away the pain and release herself from all of it, all the pain and suffering if only for a short while before returning to the harsh reality that she was forced into.

The young brunette shut her eyes tightly as the horrible images of all the mistakes she made in the past flooded her mind. Yuki wanted to just scream and bash her head into the wall to keep herself from remembering all her flaws. All she wanted was to run and hide and to just disappear from it all. Nothing she seemed to do ever seemed to work anymore. She just felt empty and her entire life felt like it was spiraling out of control.

Yuki suppressed a growl of frustration. Her emotions were just a huge jumbled mess and at this point and she needed to...to calm down. Closing her eyes, she decided to just count to five and think of all the people that made her happy and the things that she had found to be blessings. By the count of five, she hoped she feel the slightest bit better.

Taking a deep breath, Yuki started counting.

One, Hana was still her happy, energetic self even with their horrible living situation they were in. Hana would tell her all about her day and brighten the worst of her days with that innocent smile of her's. It was also an added bonus that her sweet little sister helped her with chores around the house.

Two: her older brother would be very disappointed if she did something she would regret and didn't think through. And they were so close to the goal that they were reaching for. He would probably kill her if she did anything stupid and he learned about it. She also hoped her dearest older brother would be in Japan soon.

The third had to be him. Her greatest ally, no matter what happened, Yuki was sure that person would have her had to roll eyes, even if the idiot dared to not to reply to her emails or return her bloody texts. He would never, ever break any of their promises. And that was all she needed to know until she saw him again.

And give him a good beating while she was at it.

Moving onwards, the one thing she was immensely grateful for were her injuries. Not that she was a masochist or something but the extent of them weren't too bad, maybe a busted lip or a limp for a while, but she always adjusted as sad as it was. She could deal. Sometimes she had to spin a wild story or two, but she could keep up the act. Yuki was sure it would end soon. Yuki smiled a sad smile as she tried to fool herself. Maybe it would?

Yuki kept her thoughts going. Last, but not least had to be the Arclights. They had manipulated her into going to their 'humble home' as Mihael called it. Once turned into thrice and she didn't know what to think of it. Her mouth fixed into a tight scowl as she recalled how the pinkette's father shoved her into a chair on her last visit and made her eat all that horrible, God awful amazing food and

in between savoring the rare treats and nodding her head to some questions here and there, she had roped herself into another invite to their home. She didn't know how it all happened; it was really all just a blur. Yuki couldn't lie to herself, going over to the Arclight home made her feel like she was at ease and just a little sad her own mother wasn't there for her.

Yuki took a deep breath again after counting all the way through five. She had felt a little better after remembering all of this.

Although she felt better, the guilt and blood loss were settling in. She was so tired from tonight's beating she just couldn't keep her eyes open any longer. Her world was slowly spinning and darkening until she just couldn't keep her eyes open anymore.

Slowly, she let the guilt wash over her and darkness take her.

* * *

**Yuki's POV**

I woke up with the worst headache I had ever had in my bloody life. I groaned as I lifted my aching body from tiled floor and massaged a knot in my shoulder.

My eyes scanned the bathroom floor. I had left it in a bit of a mess last night; the floor had my blood on the tiles as I suspected but it was all over the place from my fitful slumber. I suppressed a growl of frustration as I got up and forced myself to stand up and get to cleaning the bloody floor. If I could, I would have punched the first thing I saw into a bleeding pulp but I refrained from the action as Hana was still sleeping.

Pushing my frustrations down, I sought out some wet wipes from the cabinets. With a heavy heart and a troubled mind I got to work as fast as I could.

After a good long scrub, the floor was clean and I could finally wash up and get a much needed shower. God knows I need it.

I stretched out my tired limbs as I stripped off my night clothes and turned on the hot water. It worked against my aching muscles as I sighed in pleasure. I washed off the dried blood from my wrists and assessed the rest of my injuries from the night before. I didn't think anything was actually broken, just bruised. My ribs felt horrible and my back was black and blue. I would have to put ice on it when I had time.

Steamed flowed out as I stepped out of the shower. I wrapped myself in a towel as I checked to see if I had any other injuries on my face. My step father was never careful with where he beat me and many times I had bruises on my face. Today was no exception. My cheek was swollen from when he had punched me and the was a hand shaped mark on my neck. I sighed as I walked back to my room to change.

The first thing I made note of was the time. I was late. Again. I didn't know whether to laugh at my luck or just scream in anger. All I knew was that I had put on my uniform as fast as I could, fix my face, wake up Hana, make breakfast, and get the hell to school before Hana could get marked for being late.

I decided that I hated my life as I scrambled do everything as fast as humanly possible.

I almost fell flat on my face as I bumped into my younger sister at the bottom of the stairs.

"Owww...Nee-san why are you in such a rush." Hana grumbled as she rubbed her head.

I raised an eyebrow at my younger sister, countering her question with my own silent one. What the hell was she doing up when she was normally sleeping like she was dead? There was no chance in hell my sister could ever get up early on a school day without me waking her and dragging her into the bathroom. On good days she would be somewhat more compliant with waking up. But on bad days, she seemed to already be awake and that would lead to something horrible. The last time this had happened, Hana had taken a pair of scissors to a girls hair and after much persuasion, was only suspended. Of course we moved schools afterwards due to other reasons though.

"I had a feeling you would oversleep so I woke myself and made breakfast." She replied simply with a grin plastered to her face and handed me my own warm buttery toast to eat. Simple but effective. "Sorry its not much."

I shook my head in response and ruffled her hair in thanks. I pushed the thought to the corner of my mind. My sweet sister might be a handful at times, she couldn't cause too much chaos in one day.

Ushering her out the door, I gobbled down the much needed breakfast.

I had to drag myself and her all the way to school. It sucked especially since we were both tired today. I was pretty sure once I dropped off Hana my apparent happy mood would be gone.

I sighed again as I thought about all the pent up frustration inside of me and I had no way of letting it out or even someone to vent to.

It was days like these where I felt hopeless and empty. A shell of my former self and no way out.

Too soon was my train of thought broken as we passed through the gates and I had given my sister a quick hug and wave as I took off to my own classes for the day.

The day seemed to go by so fast, almost like a blur, but by my fourth class of the day, it seemed to drag on by.

At one point in the class, I had miraculously pissed off one of my teachers by 'not doing what I was told.' I could've cared less about what she had to say and even less of what she had to teach. I had gone over the topic before years ago and it was still drilled into my mind.

As I wrote these words and showed it to my teacher, she seemed invent a new shade of red. Her eyes looked murderous as I went on to tell her I would rather hear nails on a chalkboard than her lecture on Trigonometry.

"Get out." Her voice dangerously low.

"_My pleasure._" I wrote quietly. The room had gone quiet, too quiet for my taste, left with only the thickening silence that threatened to swallow me whole.

I rose from my seat, gathering my work and shoving it into to my book bag and slung it over my shoulder. I threw a haughty smirk over to my teacher as I slammed the door closed.

My footsteps echoed in the empty hallways.

I bit my lip at my stupidity. Why couldn't I ever say what I really want instead of being a total bitch? I hadn't remembered when I started acting this way. Maybe it was around the time my step father had taken me from my mother. Maybe it was after the accident or when Papa had left us. I didn't know. I had become very different and my old self was only a faded memory, something that would soon be forgotten.

Before I knew it, my legs had carried me all the way to a section of the school I hadn't quite visited in a while. It was part of the East Wing of Heartland Academy where they held the Advanced classes. Most students kept out of this part of the school because it was for the elite of the elite. Or so I was told by my teachers when they were lecturing me on my current grades the other day

I shoved my hands into my pants pockets. I had some time to kill, why not spend it here? Not like they specifically told me to go anywhere anyways.

I slid the door open and and everyone seemed to turn and watch me.

"Is there something you need?" The teacher, whom I recalled as Ms. Rei, asked.

"I was kicked out of class. May I stay here and do my work?" I wrote, facing her. I could hear the whispering and giggling already.

"And why were you kicked out?" Ms. Rei questioned me but her small smile told me she seemed to be more amused than upset that someone interrupted her lesson.

"_Because I told my teacher she couldn't teach._" I wrote back simply with a shrug of my shoulders.

"I see." Ms. Rei nodded. "Who was teaching?"

"_Kido-sensei._" I wrote, rolling my eyes.

"Oh. You have her." Ms. Rei said. "She isn't the best teacher out there and well, she has a few screws loose in that head of hers."

I suppressed the urge to smirk and silently cheered in my head. Finally, someone who understands! The rest of the class laughed at her obvious distaste for my pre-cal teacher. I suppose that would be because Ms. Rei was the teacher of the Advanced pre calculus class from what I could tell from what was written on the board.

"Well take a seat in the corner there, miss.. .? She trailed off.

"_Shiragane. Shiragane Yuki._" I scribbled onto my sketchbook.

"Ah. Then please sit over there Shiragane-san." Ms. Rei nodded, turning back to the lesson.

I quietly walked over to the desk before I met eyes with IV. I wasn't really surprised, he was pretty smart even though he was an asshole at times. He, on the other hand, raised a questioning eyebrow in my direction which I promptly ignored and started pulling out the work for my other class.

It was a good half hour gone and wasted as I watched the other kids do pointless math equations when my thoughts wandered once again. I finished my work in ten minutes flat and I was once again, bored out of my mind. I really wished something interesting would happen already. I was so damn bored.

As it would seem, just as I finished my thought, the most wonderful person walked through the door.

My dear older brother waltzed into the room like he owned it. Which was the total opposite of how he looked to my chagrin. Cloud (yes his name really was Cloud) Shiragane was pretty much a god to female eyes even with bags under his eyes and blonde (it wasn't even his natural hair color) hair that jutted out in every possible angle.

"Hello. I'm looking for my younger sister, Yuki Shiragane? My brother responded coolly with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes as all the girls started squealing at my brother. Even Ms. Rei seemed a bit flustered. All she could do was simply point in my direction.

My big brother had the hugest grin on his face when he saw me. "Yuki, kiddo, my favorite pint sized brat of a sister! How I've missed you so!" Cloud declared melodramatically as he grabbed a chair and propped it next to my table and straddled it with his legs.

"_One, drop the mushy crap, I know it's an act. Two, call me pint sized again and I'll break your arm Big Brother. Three, why the hell are you even here?_" I signed since there was no point in writing with him around. First day he's back and he embarrasses me and calls me short. I'll have to make sure I get him back later.

"Someone's being pissy today. Who decided to mess with you today, hm?" My brother gave me one look before dropping his pretense. "I'm here cuz I came to see to see you brat." Cloud said.

"_Okay._" I signed. I missed my brother right now and his weirdness. I wasn't going to question why he was here

My brother gave me a strange look that promised a talking to later, but I didn't care.

Amidst our conversation, the class was sweatdropping anime style at us. But for long the stopped caring and went back to learning until Ms. Rei called out to the class.

"So no one knows how to answer this?" She asked tiredly. The class was silent and she sighed. My brother decided to speak up.

"Yuki knows how to do it." Cloud said. Everyone turned to look at him, myself included. "Don't you?" He was challenging me from the looks of it. I smirked. I never back down from a challenge, especially one from my older brother.

I walked to the board, my steps echoing. I looked over at the problem. It required some thought at the most but it didn't look overly complicated. I could see why Ms. Rei was frustrated.

I wrote the numbers carefully, not wanting to mess up in front of my brother. It took me a few seconds to refresh my memory of what the problem was exactly and the steps to solve it, but I did it.

I put the chalk down and held my breath.

My brother looked bored but I could see the pride in his eyes most people wouldn't notice. And then some idiot started clapping. The said idiot happened to be IV. I decided to humor him and gave a tiny half smile in his direction which he returned.

"Good job, Shiragane-san." Ms. Rei smiled at me. She cleared her throat as she spoke again. "Would you and your brother see me after class?"

I blinked in surprise but nodded before returning to my desk.

The rest of the class was spent on doing the given homework for tomorrow while my brother told me about his trip to America.

I sighed as the class finally ended and Ms. Rei spoke to me and my brother. I had fun but it seemed to drag on forever, much too long in my opinion.

"Hey."

I rolled my eyes as I waved back to IV. I tugged on my brother's lab coat and gestured to IV and IV to my brother.

"A friend of my sister?"

"Yeah. IV Arclight." IV introduced himself, shaking his hand.

"A pleasure, IV. The name's Cloud Shiragane."

"Likewise." IV said.

"So, how do you k-" my brother started but was cut off by an obnoxious voice.

"You disgusting whore! I can't believe you're sleeping around with my boyfriend!" Ana, in all her plastic glory, stood in front of me. "God, I knew you were a freak! You're such a fucking idiot. You don't know shit do you? I could end you if I really wanted to."

Normally, I would have said a few things myself but I was mute and judging by my brother's face, I didn't need to step in. IV had realized this as well and let my brother handle Ana.

My brother's handsome features scrunched up into a murderous death glare. If looks could kill, Ana would be six feet under.

"Excuse me? Can you repeat that?" Brother spoke softly, voice barely above a whisper.

Ana spun to face my brother but as she did, Cloud grabbed her arm, pinned it behind her back harshly, and shoved her face forward into the wall with a thud.

Ana started screaming like there was no tomorrow and struggled in my brother's iron hold on her. I almost flinched at my brother's ruthlessness but held back. He knew what he was doing.

"Listen here, and listen very, very good. If you ever say that to my sister again, there will be hell to pay. No one calls my sister a whore and gets away with it. If I find out you so much as touch a single hair on her head, I will personally end you, got that?" Cloud said, but he wasn't done quite yet. He leaned in and whispered something in her ear that made Ana go deadly pale before shoving her away. He glared at the crowd that had formed and in seconds they were scurrying away.

Campus security had been called but my brother ushered me away to my next class saying he would deal with it. I decided I would take his word for it.

Lunch rolled by right after fourth period. I was so exhausted after what had just happened. Mentally and physically. The news had spread like a wildfire. Everyone avoided me like the plague but this time it was out of fear, rather than out of hatred for me. I couldn't say I really minded because I never spoke to any of them on a personal level.

I sighed as a pushed opened the door to the roof of the school. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw IV already here. I mock saluted him and sat down.

"_No fangirls chasing after you today?_" I inquired tapping my sketchbook to get his attention.

"Nope." IV said popping the p. I rolled my eyes as I pulled out the lunch my brother gave me before leaving.

"So what does that brother of yours even do for a living anyways?"

"_Absolutely nothing. He's one of the amazing child prodigies of our family. Has a medical degree and he's studying genetics in America, I think._" I wrote simply, shrugging my shoulders. Was I supposed to be impressed? My family all had abnormally high IQ's ever since we were little, so I was used to it.

IV, in the other hand, looked amazed. He gave a low whistle "Overachiever much?"

I rolled my eyes as I bumped his shoulder in response.

"Damn. And he's a good cook." IV said. Did I detect a hint of jealousy? I mean my bento did look good; brother made all my favorites. Beef teriyaki with rice, croquette*, potato salad, and some yummy apple and peach slices for dessert. IV's looked really good too with the miso onigiri*, chicken kaarage*, yakisoba*, and the pile of fruit he got. I elbowed him in the side, with a look that told him to stop eyeballing my food.

He rolled his eyes and when I turned to face the other way, his chopsticks snatched one of my teriyaki pieces and promptly shoved it into his mouth.

I narrowed my eyes and let out a growl. He was not getting away with stealing my food! I tried to retaliate by taking one of onigiri, but he grabbed my arm before I could. Or more specifically, he grabbed my wrist. Where I had my cuts. I couldn't help but hiss in pain as I yanked my arm back.

IV widened his eyes in shock at my actions and his playful demeanor was replaced with worry and confusion.

The next thing I knew, my sleeves were rolled up and both of us were in shock.

I visibly cringed. My mind was going a million miles a minute. He saw them. He saw my scars and cuts. I just wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

My whole body started shaking. I refused to cry. It was a weakness. And if I was weak then I could be broken easily.

My negative thoughts were put to a stop when I was pulled into a tight embrace. His arms circled around my waist and my head rested on his chest. I could hear the sound of his heart beat.

"Your okay." He whispered soothingly. His hands gently worked circles on my back as he calmed down and I fought the urge not to cry.

After what seemed like an eternity, I pried myself from him and slowly moved away. I closed my eyes and breathed, nice and slow. I gathered my courage and looked him in the eyes.

Why? Why would you do this?

He seemed to understand my unspoken question and just smiled and traced the scar on his eye. He grabbed my arm and pulled out a roll of gauze from his pack. If I wasn't afraid out of my mind I would've questioned the fact that IV had gauze in his backpack. But I was so, I sat silently as he wrapped my arms.

"Hey." His voice barely above a whisper, breaking me out of my trance.

Brown eyes clashed with violet irises.

"Do you trust me?" IV asked.

I thought about it and slowly I nodded. I trusted IV.

"Then you can tell me if something's wrong, okay?"

He wasn't suggesting that I tell him what was wrong. He was suggesting I could tell him if something was wrong. And that made me feel just a little less alone.

"...I am such an idiot." IV suddenly spoke up, ruining the moment and facepalming.

I cocked my head got the side in confusion. He looked me straight in the eyes and said in the most serious voice I had ever heard. "I haven't told you my name yet."

I stifled a giggle at the sheer stupidity of his seriousness. Looking at home with amused eyes, I motioned for him to continue.

"Thomas. My name's Thomas."

I smiled and he smiled and then we just started laughing until our sides hurt and until we just couldn't laugh anymore. I decided afterwards, the name Thomas was a very fitting name for him and even though he didn't know my story yet, we would slowly learn to share it with each other.

Because we were friends and we trusted each other.

* * *

_Croquette- _It's a deep fried dish filled with either beef, chicken, or seafood with mashed potato. It's coated in breadcrumbs and can have shrimp or taste like curry too.

_Onigiri-_ Japanese rice balls.

_Chicken Kaarage- _It's basically just fried chicken, except Japanese style.

_Yakisoba- _Fried buckweat noodles, kind of like chow mein.

* * *

**Er ma God. I am finally done with this chapter! This had to be one of the hardest things I had to write in a very long time. truthfully, I meant to update like a month ago. Few reasons why I didn't: procrastination, procrastination, procrastination. I get so distracted so easily now. Another has to be writers block. Is it hard for you guys to write a depressing and rather serious topic when you're in a good mood? It is for me, but I'm working on it. Lastly has to be that I'm finally back in school and I'm having personal problems these past few weeks. School is getting a bit tougher now; my workload as a sophomore now compared to freshman year now is totally different and a lot harder. As for my personal problems, it's a bit of a good thing though, I write when I'm sad or angry so it all works out in the end.**

**Enough about me and my life, how are you guys doing? Have you guys started school yet? I know some of you guys**** might be starting school in a few days. I really hope you guys get to enjoy your last days of summer if you do. And if you already started school, then keep working hard! I'll be cheering for all of you! **

**See you next chapter~**

**-XxStarryHeavenxX**


	4. Christmas Joy

**Hello guys! So I'm back with a new chapter! I know, total shocker, right? Hmm...So last time we had a new character and a friggin' huge plot advancement, not to mention Anna being put in her place. Ah, how I loved writing that piece. Didn't you guys love Cloud? I think I'll add a few more OC's later on in the story as well... Anyways, Frozen Galaxy, about the Mihael/Michael thing, I generally watched and liked the Japanese subtitle version better than the dubbed and it actually finished all the way through so yeah. Don't get me wrong, I like the dubbed version, but not as much as. I hope you don't mind too much.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except for my plot and OC.**

**Onto the chapter!**

* * *

**Yuki's POV**

"So that's what happened?" Kamishiro Rio asked, raking a hand through her tangle of vivid blue and purple hair.

I nodded. What else did she want me to say? I mean we weren't exactly the type of people to gossip about others or fall into fits of giggles over boys- wait, no, maybe that one time, but that was it.

Rio paused, putting a manicured nail to her chin before speaking again, "So, uh, is that brother of yours taken?" smirking at my surprised look.

I threw her a look. She laughed at my expression and waved it off. "But what I'm wondering is that guy you were telling me about. Think you've kept me in the dark enough now, hmm?" Rio mused, a sly smile painted her pretty features.

Sometimes I really hated Rio, to the point where I was green with envy. Rio was always colorful to say the least. She had pink eyes that complimented her heart shaped face and her blue and purple hair that was always messy but was styled in such a nice way that you couldn't think badly of it.

"_I guess_." I wrote back to Rio. We were falling back to our old routines again whenever we had time to spare, Rio would Skype me and I would use my sketchpad to reply or I would type out my responses. She encouraged me whenever I needed and I would listen to her rant whenever she needed.

"_His name's IV- I mean Thomas…"_ I wrote with a bit of a grimace. I still wasn't used his name yet.

"Damn," Rio replied with a smirk. "You know IV too? What a small world."

"_Well, how do you know him them, huh? And you make it sound like you already knew were gonna meet at one point_."

"Oh yeah, him, Mihael, Sharky, and I used to go to the same school at one point. You know how I told you how I was caught in a fire and I had to stay in the hospital for a while?" I nodded. That was the first time Rio and I met. We were roommates in our small little white walled hospital room for several months until we were discharged almost at the same time. I met Shark Attack during that time too. "Sharky wasn't home that day and one of the outlets pretty much exploded and it spread pretty quick. That's how I got my burns and IV got his scar. Shark is still extremely pissed off with Thomas for getting me hurt." Rio continued explaining.

That made a lot of sense; Shark was always an over protective brother, much like my own.

"_So that's it?_"

"Yep. That's it."

"_Huh. I was expecting more Kamishiro._"

"Hey, my life isn't always rainbows and sunshines Shiragane!"

I rolled my eyes, "_Yeah I know."_

"Well, anyways if you see him tell him I said, 'hi'."

"_Kay_." I wrote back.

"You're awfully quiet today. Anything wrong?"

"_Nope. Not a problem in the world._" I replied with a smile.

"Tell meee~"

_"Rio, I'm always quiet. I'm mute for God's sake."_ My eye twitched. "_Why are you so damn perky today, anyways?."_

"Ah crass as always Yuki." Rio winked at me. "I'm just in a good mood as all."

"_If you say so, Ms. Rainbows and Sunshine._" I retorted

"You sure though? You can can tell me if you want." She trailed off with a worried tone.

_"I'm not sure about anything anymore, really. Nothing seems to be making any sense and I just- Ahh forget what I said it's nothing!_" I broke off hurriedly and plastered another fake smile onto my face. "_Hey, didn't you say you had to do something earlier? Best get to it Ice Queen, it's getting pretty late._" I wrote as I gestured to the approaching night sky outside my window.

Rio narrowed her eyes, promising later retribution. "I do have something I need to finish but this conversation isn't over little miss Demon Princess! You better be sure, I'm gonna get it out of you sooner rather than later, got it?"

I rolled eyes, but I nodded nonetheless. I'd be an idiot to mess with Rio when she's like this.

"Alrighty then," Rio sighed, pressing a hand to her temple. "Just make sure you take care of yourself, I don't want you getting hurt again...Oh and don't forget to say hi to dumbass and your brother and Hana-chan for me."

My lips formed into a thin line as I mock saluted her and quickly turned off my webcam and logged off of my Skype account.

I stifled a groan as I walked over to my bed and promptly threw myself on the mass of fluffy pillows. '_I just feel like not waking up anymore._' I thought to myself bitterly. I wanted so very much to shut myself out from the world and never come out. I didn't want anyone to see me like this.

Weak and fragile: so easily broken with a simple word or touch.

"Yuki-nee, it's dinner time." Hana came into my room. "Ah, look Mr. Penguin, a dead body!" My little sister poked at my stomach with her beloved Mr. Penguin. I really regretted winning her that stupid blue sailor suited penguin at the fair. I rolled my eyes, curse her and her too adorable puppy eyes.

"_I'm not dead dummy, not yet at least._" I got up and yawned into my hand. "_Anyways, I'm not hungry go eat with Cloud_."

"But Yuki-nee, Cloud-nii fell asleep on the couch and the only thing to eat is ice cream." Hana spoke with a carefree tone. She probably was gonna steal all my ice cream if I didn't give her food. "Oh and anyways, some stupid boy called asked you to meet him in the park for crepes and stuffs. He said his name was IV or something and said he messaged you on your phone but you never replied." Hana said. Ah so that was why my phone kept ringing while I was talking to Rio.

'_To go or not to go...'_ I debated inside my head. I mean on one hand, I could probably get free food off of IV, but then I would have to brave the friggin cold of Japanese winters and freeze my ass off for the duration of our meeting until one of us would have to leave. I looked at Hanako whose stomach decided to growl at the same time as I was debating this.

I blinked. Well, I guess we're getting food for the both of us now. "Hey come on, you're coming with me." I signed as I threw her one of my jackets and put on my own coat and boots.

"Do I have to? It's cold outside." Hana complained, looking precariously outside the window.

"_Only if you don't want food._" I smirked, slipping my phone and wallet into my coat pocket and slinging my pack over my shoulder. My baby sister didn't say another word as she quickly ran down to put on her shoes and I soon followed. We opened the door to the freezing cold, leaving our brother without a single word, but with the quiet warmth of our house.

* * *

I shoved my hands into my coat pockets while Hana clung to my elbow, the both of us shivering at the cold even with our warm winter coats. Halfway through our detour to the park, I decided IV had better have had a really good reason for texting me and telling me to meet him in a friggin park at 8 in the night just for crepes. I hated the cold more than I loved sweets.

"Hey." IV called out as we approached him sitting at a nearby bench. "I almost thought you weren't gonna show."

_"Fuck off,"_ I wrote impatiently as I took out my sketchpad. "_Who even has crepes at this time of night?_" I glared at him.

IV rolled his eyes at me, "Apparently, you." he replied effortlessly. "Is that your little sister?"

I sighed but nodded. I nudged Hana to introduce herself but she wasn't having it as she stayed behind me. I gave her a stern look and she complied grudgingly.

"Hanako Shiragane. It is not a pleasure." my sister mumbled, glaring at the floor. My mouth tipped up a bit at my sister's usual perkiness to new people.

"Huh, I like her." IV laughed. "You can call me IV."

"_So uh, our crepes?_" I tapped my sketchpad to get his attention. I really needed food.

"Oh yeah," IV answered. "I'll get them right now." He started walking to the crepe truck that always stayed near the park. I was slightly amazed by the fact that it was still open at this time of night, even though it really wasn't that late. While he was getting our crepes I realized he didn't really know what kind of crepes my sister and I even wanted, but I didn't really care. Food was food and you couldn't go wrong with crepes.

IV came back with three crepes that all looked amazing and practically drool worthy. The crepes were cone shaped and had lots of ice cream and fruit topping on the inside. The ice cream was made to look like certain animals like bunnies and dogs and cats.

We walked over to one of the park benches that were made out of stone and had little circular lights on the ground. Hana was the first to take her crepe, but not before popping a few of the strawberries into her mouth. IV handed me my own crepe filled with vanilla ice cream decorated like a bunny and caramel sauce with peaches and mangoes.

"_So, why did you want to bring me out for crepes again?_" I wrote on my sketchpad. I had a hard time writing with basically one hand as I was busy eating my crepe while I questioned him.

"Are you busy on Christmas?" IV asked taking a bite out of his own crepe with vanilla ice cream decorated as a dog.

"_Yes_." I wrote placidly forking some of the fruit from my crepe. I was lying through my teeth and he probably knew. Holidays were just another reason for my stepfather to get drunk and beat me, though hardly think he'll be around with Cloud back.

"No we aren't, Yuki-nee." Hana interjected innocently still finishing off her strawberries.

I blinked. What was Hana doing? She hated strangers, particularly males, and IV probably wasn't an exception especially how her introduction with him went. And besides, Hana always had a sister complex with me and hardly ever handed me over on a silver platter to people. I mentally groaned, Hana could get so confusing sometimes.

"Really now? Then I suppose we'll be seeing you for Christmas and New Year's then." IV remarked with a final tone.

"_Wait, wait, wait. I never agreed to any of this!"_

He smirked, "No one cares, besides your sister has already agreed."

"I still hate you." my sister said blankly, not missing a beat.

"Right..." IV coughed awkwardly into his hand before continuing. "Anyways, I need to know what you guys like so I can get you guys stuff."

My sister and I shared a look. We had long finished our crepes and this conversation was not going where I had originally wanted it to. It was times like these where I wanted to actually state my opinion without having a filter.

"You hardly know us." Hana stated bluntly, her eyes wide with shock. It was rare for her to get presents with my meager earnings and even with the money Cloud sent us every month. Hell, it was just rare in general for us to get anything.

IV sighed as though it was something simple, but smiled after a minute. "True, but I think you guys seem like the type who deserve lots of presents from what I can tell."

My throat felt tight and it was a bit hard to breath once he said those words. It had been a very long time since anyone went out of their way to give both my sister and I something. At this point I made up my mind and I wrote slowly, "_Hana likes Rilakumma plushies and penguins. You already sorta know what I like and I don't mind what you get me."_

"Alright. I can deal with that. You know what to get the others right?" IV asked.

"_Yeah, I guess._" I had spent enough time at the Arclight's these past months that I had a decent idea of what they liked and didn't. "_But don't anything over the top...You pretty much just told me to go shop for like, five people in the short span of three days until Christmas."_

He chuckled, "Of course."

"Can our big brother come?" Hana commented. I had almost forgotten about Cloud until Hana brought him up.

"Yeah."

We dissolved into mindless conversation after this. It was unimportant but at the same time important filling the cold night sky with something warm as small secrets that weren't really secrets were shared. We were laughing and it seemed different. Not so black and white. It was nice.

_"Oh._" I wrote as I snapped my fingers, remembering something from earlier.

"Yeah?"

"_Rio says hi."_

"Rio as in Kamishiro Rio?" IV spluttered.

"_Yep_."

"Huh. Hmm... Well I guess out of anyone, you'd be the one to know Rio."

"_Were you close?"_ I wrote. They seemed close from what Rio had told me.

"Yeah, yeah we were." He responded softly. He raked a hand through his blonde and purple hair before speaking again, "But not like that."

_"I see. Did you want to be?"_

IV laughed, "With Rio? Ha! Nah, she's not my type."

I hummed in response. I kinda wanted to ask what was his type, but it seemed a bit weird even though we've known each other for a while.

"Why do you ask? Jealous?" IV said with his eyes twinkling with mischief.

"_Nah, who would wanna date you anyways?"_ I responded nonchalantly while rolling my eyes.

He seemed a bit dejected at my response though I had no idea why. It was a simple answer so I didn't understand why it made him upset.

He coughed before answering. "I'll probably call her or something. Anyways," he began as he got up from the bench and stretched, "it is getting late. I should probably walk you guys home as it is the gentlemanly thing to do and well, father would kill me if I didn't."

_"And people say chivalry is dead._" I rolled my eyes. "_But I can take care of myself and my sister perfectly fine, thanks for the offer though."_

IV seemed to ponder my answer before giving me his reply. "Far enough where you won't get mugged and or raped, but close enough where you're comfortable?" He suggested.

I shrugged. That was fine. I just didn't want him to find out where we lived, it could have ended up badly if my stepfather found out about IV.

IV walked us a couple blocks to our house before stopping a block away from where we actually lived. It had gotten much more dark out than it had before as expected, but we did stay out longer than I had anticipated. We said our goodnights and respective see you laters before leaving to our respective homes and houses.

* * *

Three days went by rather grudgingly slow and my small family ended up on the porch of the Arclight home at 6 P.M. sharp, carrying loads of gifts and a few dinner delights for later. I didn't even have time to ring the doorbell before Chris swung open the door and ushered us into their warm home.

"Good evening, Yuki-chan." Chris smiled happily at me. "I'm happy you and your family could make it tonight."

I smiled in return and dropped the presents under the tree before greeting the other occupants of the Arclight home in the kitchen. My sister found herself playing with their dog, Alexander whilst Cloud chatted with Chris.

"Hey, Chris. Been awhile." my brother said amicably, shaking Chris's hand.

"Cloud! I didn't know you were Yuki's older brother."

My brother laughed, "Well, I didn't know you knew my little sister."

"She's a charmer, I can tell you that much." Chris chuckled as they moved their talk to the foyer near the warm fire place.

I was helping Mihael and their father with some last minute dinner preparations. I sighed. It was long time since I had a family dinner. The night was filled with bright laughter and smiles.

"Nice dress." IV suddenly walked into the room, taking an apple from the fruit bowl and taking a bite.

I blushed in embarrassment. I hardly wore dresses unless I had to. My brother and little sister somehow persuaded me to put on a dress for the occasion. It wasn't anything special: just a simple red dress with white fluff at the skirt and neckline of the dress paired with an old pair of old red flats I found in my closet. I let my usual straightened hair cascade in waves down my back.

"Father, is dinner almost ready yet? I want open the presents already." IV whined childishly.

"Not yet. The presents will still be there after dinner Thomas, no need to rush." Byron-san scolded IV causing him to grumble in annoyance.

At this, the idiot turned to me and smirked. I swear to god, I saw the devil's reincarnation in his eyes as he dragged me up the stairs and into a room. When he did this, I really wanted to scream bloody murder or rape, whatever came first. But then, he turned on the lights and tossed me a controller.

"_Um what?_" I wrote as I scrambled to comprehend what exactly gone down these past few minutes. Like what the hell? One does not simply drag another person up stairs and into an empty room. I just didn't understand what went inside his mind sometimes.

"We," the idiot gestered to each of us, "are gonna play some Mario Kart 'til the food is ready." IV said in a matter of fact tone. I shook my head but sat down anyways, my eyes burning with determination.

His smirk grew wider as he took in my expression and before long we spent an entire hour playing Mario Kart 8 and just laughing when we hit each other with red and blue shells or when we failed at drifting and fell of the ledge, especially when we were on Rainbow Road.

_"I win again."_ I wrote happily. I practically dominated him at this game. This was like my fifth win in a row out of like our 8 tries.

IV rolled his eyes, but smiled nonetheless. "I think we should probably go down. Food's probably done by now."

I shrugged. Probably. After that win streak, I was pretty hungry and so was IV as I could tell. We decided to have a race for no apparent reason, as I found myself sliding down the banister while IV was practically taking five steps at a time to get to the food. In the end, I couldn't get enough motion to actually slide so, IV ended up winning this time.

"Ha! Take that Shiragane!" IV cheered as he paraded into the dining hall. I rolled my eyes, but calmly followed after him.

As he predicted, not only was the food finished, but the table was set and all the food was laid out as well. There was an entire ham, some roasted turkey with stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, boiled custard and persimmon pudding, pumpkin and sweet potato pie, and some apple cider all laid out around the table. Byron-san called us all into the dining room and sat us all down. We toasted to a brilliant Christmas dinner and for a many more days of happiness. I can't say I remembered my last Christmas toast as I was pretty young, but I suppose it went along those lines. Chris and Mihael complimented how good the boiled custard and persimmon pudding and how they could have practically eat forever if they could, earning a few chuckles across the table. I blushed at their praise and insisted that their home cooked meals were much better than my meager desserts. They laughed at my modestness and continued spread the Christmas joy during dinner.

After a very long, and delicious meal we were finally able to open the presents, much to IV's obvious delight, even Hana was excited which made me extremely happy for being able to come. It was rare to see her so happy; I wished she could stay like this forever. We gathered around the tree and we decided that Hana should go first as she was the youngest and a guest.

She got three rather big boxes of presents and a smaller rectangular one, probably from my brother , which she tore through in her excitement. When she opened all three of her presents, she sqealed in delight, clapping her hands together and jumping up and down. Her presents weren't so amazing, but she seemed to love them. Hana got a Rilakkuma in a penguin suit and a Rilakkuma space backpack in one box, a huge stuffed Korilakuma in another, and finally some fluffy Rilakkuma slippers with some Rilakkuma sandwich cutters in the last big box box. In the smaller box, was a pink metal tumbler with all the Rilakkuma characters etched on it. It an eight year old's drekam come true. Hana was so happy she hugged all the Arclights, including IV, and gave Cloud a big hug.

Mihael and I opened our presents next at the same time. We each had five boxes between the both of us. Since he let Hana go first, I let him open his presents first. His presents consisted an Aztec mask, a couple historic books probably from Chris, and some more books about Aztecs from IV. I gave something more different from the Aztec theme. I gave him some special imported tea since I knew how much he loved tea which he gratefully accepted. My presents were more all around ranging from a XBox bundle with Assassin's Creed from IV (I don't know why he would even spend that kind of money from me.), some Attack on Titan stuff, a bunch of pokemon plushies, some books, and some very cute winter sweaters for when I brave the cold.

The present giving went rather smoothly and pretty excitedly. Presents ranged from clothes to video games and the awesome collection of Pierce the Veil CD's and Simple Plan merchandise I got for some idiot (IV) to bundles and bundles of books (Chris and Byron-san). The night was filled with joy and happiness and I didn't want it to end. Before long though, it was getting very late and my brother decided it was best we go home as Hana was falling asleep by now. But before we left I got one final surprise from the Arclight family, or rather from IV.

It was a small package and was relatively weightless. When I opened it was like a Christmas miracle. Inside was a simple little blue music box that played a little tune from my childhood, but I never remembered the name of the song. It had a little snow bunny and inside was a little message that said, 'Secrets start small. I remembered one of your's.' When I read this, I felt immensely happy that he remembered this. It was something so small, that most people would have probably forgotten, but he actually kept it in mind.

Before I left, we shared a secret smile together. I never felt so important before, and he was right, secrets do start small. It built trust.

This Christmas was one I couldn't ever forget. The warmth didn't leave me even as the coldness of inside me returned. It gave me a little hope as I would march into a new year. And possibly the many more to come.

* * *

**Happy New Year's Eve! Yeah, I just finished this like right now, so damn happy I actually made my own deadline! So, I was actually gonna be like, Happy Holidays/Christmas/Whatever-Else-You-Celebrate, but I kinda failed so yeah, Happy New Year's Eve! (Again). Guys, 2014 was an amazing year filled with ups and downs and hopefully more happiness will come to each and everyone of you. I personally dedicate this to Frozen Galaxy and MrCoolPyro for always cheering for this story. Your reviews mean the world to me and gave me the motivation needed to keep going with this story. As to any new reviewers, I wish you just as much happiness. I also want to dedicate this to the three couples that sat with me and inspired me to keep following my dreams while I was typing away at Morongo Casino in a food court and gave me such an inspirational and engaging conversation. Especially, to the guy with the crooked hat who was eating Fat Burger and kept talking nonstop while keeping me laughing.**

**Keep safe guys. Don't go out having too much fun tonight and stay away from white vans and people who offer you candy. And now, I bid you all a happy and wonderful start to a New Year and night.**

**P.S. Shout out to MrCoolPyro for saving this chapter and helping me out when I needed it. You're awesome.**

**-XxStarryHeavenxX**

**Edit: I was editing this around 3:30 in the morning trying to get this all done for you all so please forgive any of my crappy grammar mistakes, any forgotten words or text and misspelled words. I love you all.**


	5. Bonding

**Why allo there! Insert my own really good British accent there. Surprisingly, I'm actually really good at British accents, but that is beside the point. So last time, I made some nice Christmas-y stuffs and meshed it into a chapter, but I forgot to ask: what did you guys get over winter break and did you have any fun? Meh, food for thought. God, that question is gonna be really old when I post this chapter, but yeah. Mine was pretty good, not many fights at home and I got a Glaceon plushie for my tiny anime collection. Oh and food!**

**Anyways, any thoughts on how you think the story will turn out? I'd like to know what you guys think. Advice, comments, and corrections on my grammar are greatly appreciated.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal, I only own my OC's and I suppose my plot. Oh, and Mr. Penguin.**

* * *

**Yuki's POV**

"You're shitting me."

I shook my head.

"Seriously?" my blonde hair companion all but complained.

I rolled my eyes but nodded nonetheless.

"I can't believe this. I was looking forward for Saturday too." IV groans.

I shrug in blatant boredom. Not my problem.

"What about Sunday? Or next Saturday?"

"_...Maybe. Depends if I want to humor you, but I'll kick your ass at video games any day, Arclight._"

He ignores my comment. "But anyways, you're telling me that your brother is forcing you to actually spend an entire day just with him, your little sister, and yourself? Doesn't seem too bad." he says, raking a hand through his hair.

"You don't know my brother." I wrote seriously. I was nestled in my tiny corner in our usual meeting spot on the roof of the school. My head bobs to the rhythm of the music from my phone as I worked on some last minute homework I forgot to do. IV settled himself next to me, precariously throwing an arm around my shoulders.

"True but it can't be that bad." he said, taking one of my ear buds and putting it in his ear. I grunted and threw him a look that meant if he didn't take his arm off, I'd do it for him.

He snickered and put up his hands in surrender, pulling his arm away and scooted a bit to give me some space. "Chill. What are you worried about anyways?" he questioned.

I pursed my lips at his question and said nothing, while I was groaning internally, dreading the inevitable 'brother-sister time' Cloud was pretty much forcing onto me. I hated when I had to act like friggin Sally Sunshine and not be anti social.

Cloud was condemning me to a full day worth of torture. I mentally sighed, IV was right, it was just a single day and spending it with my older brother and younger sister when most of the time I already hang out with Hana, helping her with homework and watching the occasional Taiwanese drama when our stepfather was out of the house, which was most of the time now that Cloud had come back from overseas.

Our stepfather had made himself scarce around our house and especially around Cloud. My brother thought he understood my vehement dislike of our stepfather, but he didn't think past the drunkenness and how he would plow through our expenses to feed his alcohol addiction. He couldn't see the darkness in his eyes when his eyes landed on me or the smirk he wore when he was peering at Hana dangerously. For now, my sister and I were safe as long as we stuck with Cloud and made sure we weren't in his line of sight.

"_Not as much as I thought._" I wrote, calming my erratic thoughts and shoving them to the back of my mind. I stood up and put my books back into my bag and slinging it over my shoulder.

"So how are your new classes going?" IV asked, a hint of teasing in his voice. Did he really have to ask this right when we were walking to class? Apparently so.

"_Good enough, but you already know that don't you?_" I replied. After that talk with IV's, now mine as well, precalculus teacher, I now had every advanced class a second year could possibly have due to my brother. Not that I minded really, I had less free time than before, but I was less bored. And surprisingly, my new teachers enjoyed my back talk and sassed me right back. My only downside was that my annoying two toned haired friend was in my every class.

Every. Single. One.

"_I can't believe you flunked your classes for two years straight._" I teased, holding up my sketchpad to IV and smirking a bit. We walked back to the main hallways and into the bustling crowds filled with other students shoving their way to get to class on time.

"Hey, no. Shut it. I didn't even flunk, I was abroad in England, okay?" IV grumbled, pushing past a groupie of students. I mentally groaned, wishing we hadn't left so late now that people were flooding the hallways and crowding around me.

I rolled my eyes, "Got any proof?"

"Why the frig," Blondie said, "do I need to give you proof?"

"_If there isn't any evidence, then it never happened._"

"You've been on way too much Tumblr, sweetheart." IV rolled his eyes and slid open the door. "Ladies first." He spoke pleasantly. I rolled my eyes and walked in, ignoring how he called me 'sweetheart'." I walked over to my seat near the back of the class and took my seat near the window. IV soon followed and sat down in his own seat in the middle of the classroom.

Other students were clambering around the classroom still, waiting for our evidently late teacher to show up and start today's lesson. Some were finishing up some lunch and others, mostly girls, were speaking animatedly with their groups of friends about who got the latest beauty products or flaunting their newest piece of jewelry and some were waiting patiently for class to start.

I rolled my eyes at how stupid they all looked. I mean, I for one, didn't give a damn about appearances and looks, but rather personality. Reputation meant nothing to me but it did make me wary of certain people at times and from what I could tell, most of the people in the room were stuck up rich kids, feigning ignorance about things that were actually going on outside of their fancy world.

The footfalls of our teacher arriving, interrupted my annoyed thoughts. Students rushed to their seats when he sets down his books and casts a stern look around the room, silencing any gossip for now. Our teacher teacher is a rather old man with a slight balding head, in his late 50's or so but speaks enthusiastically but deliberately as he explains our history lesson.

"Alright everyone, turn to page 418 of your history book. Today, we will be learning about Japanese involvement during the time of WWII." Akiyama-sensei spoke. "We will begin with past aggression's to the different involvements of other countries such as America and Germany and then you will write an essay about the effects and what happened during the war, leading to the after effects..." he drawled onward, ignoring the majority of groans and complaints throughout the room and told us to get started with our work.

I tapped my pen onto my sheet of paper as I scanned the contents of our textbook. I could already tell this lesson was already going to be a bore.

* * *

"Yuki, hurry up already! You're taking forever in there!" Cloud yelled through the door, fist pounding on the plywood.

I ignored him as I brushed hair, collecting my thoughts.

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

It was only a dinner. Nothing big. My stepfather wasn't even going to be there. If Cloud was going to ask me anything, I could try and lie to him, but he always knew when I was lying. Better to give him half truths than nothing at all.

Before I exited the bathroom, I gave myself a once over. Black and white plaid flannel over a nice fitted tee that had the words, 'Music is the speak of Angels' sprawled on, and dark blue jeans paired with black ankle boots. I had my hair in my regular ponytail with my ribbon and black thick rimmed glasses framing my face.

A casual kind of punk look, that wasn't anything special. I nodded at my reflection; brother would approve.

I took a deep breath before placing my hand on the door and walked out to my room, gathering up my purse and phone. I'm about to leave when I realize Hana is laying on my bed, causing me to wonder what in the world she is doing. I express my thoughts by clearing my throat and signing.

"Wondering what took you so long." She replies cheekily, eyes not straying from the wall.

"_We're leaving in a few minutes, y'know._" I sign towards her as she gives me a quick glance.

"But I wanna know what you think about my outfit." Hana whines childishly.

"_You look fine._" I tell her, noting she's wearing a light blue scallop trimmed shirt with a collar and a white skirt. "You don't even have your shoes or socks on."

When I comment about her appearance, she breaks into a grin before bouncing off my bed. She probably went to go put them on, hopefully.

I go downstairs to see what Cloud is up to, since it's almost time to leave and he hates it when we're late. Not that I really care though.

"_Hey, are we leaving yet?_"

"Yeah. Is Hana ready yet?" He asks, looking at his wristwatch.

"Yup. I'm ready! But where are we even going, brother?" Hana shouted happily, dashing down the stairs and glomping Cloud. I smiled a bit; Hana could only be truly happy when were alone, away from our stepfather.

Cloud chuckled and ruffled her hair, "Someplace nice, that's for sure. Ah, but nothing fancy." Yeah, that's for sure. Cloud kinda always looks like a bum even if he tries to look nice. As if he was all knowing, he slapped me upside the head and shot me a mock glare.

Ah, he knows me too well.

Cloud ushers us out the door and into the car. My sister calls shotgun and jumps into the passenger seat while I slide into the backseat. The car roars with life as Cloud starts the ignition and soon we're passing skyscrapers and other towering buildings of Heartland City. Hana describes the past week to our brother while I on the other hand, plug in my ear buds for the rest of the car ride.

My thoughts and worries blur together once more and in a blink of an eye, I'm re-watching myself cowering in a corner, desperately trying to cover myself from the oncoming blows. I'm hearing shouting but it all blends together - like white noise. I know Hana's in the closet, hiding, but can hear every word that's being screamed at me. That I'm useless, a waste of space, everything is my fault. Always my fault

Even though it must be all lies, I've been fed those lies for far too long and I'm almost starting to believe them. But then I remember I'm in the car with my older brother and Hanako, safe and I'm no where near that thing I have to call my stepfather. I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay.

Those are the only words that calm my fear and make me swallow the urge to cut.

By the time we're at the restaurant, I'm in a dark mood, but I keep it in check. My brother casts a wary glance over my direction, but says nothing and takes Hanako's hand and leads us into the restaurant, and we are quickly seated in a booth by one of the waiters.

"Hey, little sister could you not make such a dark face? You're ruining the refreshing mood." Cloud spoke without looking at me, casually flipping through the menu. I felt myself tense, wanting to tell him off or even crawl into a hole and die, but no, all I did was shrug.

Hanako gives a tiny smile and says, "Brother, the both of you will ruin the mood, if you keep being so tense."

Brother grumbles and signals the waiter and orders our food and drinks. Two steaks, medium rare, for him and myself and pasta for Hana. The restaurant, like Brother had described, was nothing particularly special. Dimly lit and rather small, one would think it was a rather bland place for dining, but it did seem to have this quaint charm to it. Quiet piano music fills the room and if my twin were here, she'd absolutely love this place.

The food arrives a few moments after, giving Cloud no time to grill me on my mood or ask any unwanted questions. Giving me more time to evade said questions and make up some good excuses…

Even though I'm still in a bad mood, I don't want to ruin this for Hana. This has to be our first real dinner in a while since Cloud has been back. I mean, he has been back for a while, but he's been looking for a new job and after he found one, he started working and giving us a better income than I ever could with my job at the library.

I push all my dark thoughts in corner for now, for the sake of making sure Hana and my brother have a good time tonight and maybe, just maybe, I will too. I decide halfway between pushing a piece of steak into my mouth, that I don't want to lie to Cloud, but I also want so very much to tell him the truth. To tell him everything.

But I know I can't do that. I'm too much of a coward, no matter how many times I recall being called brave by my Hana or those times when I was younger, by my mother and my real father.

"Oh, sister dearest. Please try not to be so moody as Hana says, hmm?" Big Brother chides as he looks over at me with a small smirk. "Wouldn't want the both of us to ruin the mood."

I giggle a bit at his words and continue eating. "So, how's the food?" I sign.

"Heavenly." They both reply in unison. We all glance at each other and burst into laughter.

Dinner, for the rest of the night is filled with laughter. I can't speak but I nod at a few things my brother says here and there and swell with pride when Hana says she got first place on art contest. Brother and I both say we will frame it once we get home.

Cloud coughs, "So, how has our douchy stepfather been treating you two?" He suddenly asks us. I freeze midway and I begin to choke on my water. Hana frantically pats my back.

"Fine. I still don't like him though." Hana replies, casting a worried look my way. Brother probably thinks she worried because I almost choked, but that's not true. We have bigger problems than water going down wrong way.

"Of course, but how does he treat you?"

"_He's okay. But he could be better at handling his vices._" And not beating up his step children and not causing emotional damage, but no. He's totally okay.

"He really should. If you need me to give him a talking to, " Cloud says, "I really don't mind."

Oh god, if only you knew. I'm pretty sure if I told you Cloud, you'd give him hell to pay. I can't tell though, I'm too scared, and Hana is too. If I do tell Cloud about our stepfather, I'm sure he would get his "friend" to take Hana like the last time.

It only happened once, when he had hit me for the first time and I threatened to call the cops on him. A week later, Hana disappeared and didn't come home for almost a full day, by the end of the night our stepfather brought her back, half conscious and threatened me that if I ever told on him, he'd have his friend kill her. Hana didn't remember anything that happened that day, but it would always be traumatizing for me, seeing her body limp and drugged for several hours, even though she wasn't hurt.

Brother let out a heavy sigh, knowing he couldn't get anything else out of me. I felt a twinge of guilt, but I couldn't let it get to me. Not until I could figure out what to do without harming Hana in the long run.

"And you? Hana seems fine." Cloud commented, resting his face on the palm of hand.

I shrugged. I guess I was better than before, but I didn't really notice any changes in my personality other than my roller coaster like moods and tendency to be incredibly cynical nowadays. Other than that, I've practically become Cloud himself.

I voice my thoughts, "_Hey, Cloud-oniichan, am I like you?_"

He blinks and gives me a smirk, "Maybe just a little, but even if you are, you aren't allowed to grow up just yet brat." He ruffles my hair, and gets up to pay the check. I wrap up Hana's leftover pasta and lead her out the door to the car.

Cloud returns a couple minutes later and we head home. From the backseat of the car, I let exhaustion come over me.

I am completely tired by the time I climb the stairs and throw myself onto my bed, snuggling a pillow. Cloud is in the living room with Hana and thankfully, our stepfather is once again out and probably won't return for the rest of the evening.

My brief moment of happiness is ruined when my cell suddenly starts ringing. I groan, who the fuck is calling me. For Christ's sake, I'm a friggin' mute!

I pick up the phone from my bedside table just to see who's stupid enough to call me at this hour, and what do you know, it's IV.

I pick it up rather than hanging up, just to see how long it'll take for him to figure out his mistake.

"Hey. What's up?"

"..."

"Hello?"

"..."

"...Oh, I fucked up didn't I? Fuck..." He curses through the phone. Yes, yes you did. IV laughs a bit before cursing again. I bite back my own laugh.

"Uhh well anyways, I'm gonna Skype you in a bit. No, you really don't have a choice in the matter. Just get on your damn desktop, I already know you have it with you...If you don't pick up, I'll keep calling you and annoying you until you pick up, got that? Ugh, you better pick up, Shiragane,"

I sigh and walk over to my desktop, deciding it's better to be highly amused by IV than lay in bed staring at the wall until I fell asleep. It takes a few moments to start up and true to his word, he's calling me on Skype. I lower the volume and let it ring for a bit so I can find my headphones and adjust my webcam. It takes me a while to find them (they were under my bed for God knows why) but I'm not in a rush to really talk to him. He could wait, not like either of us have anything else to do.

I put my headphones on and accept his video call. I can barely give the idiot a wave when his voice blares into my headphones.

"God, you take so damn long." He complains loudly. I shrug, better late than never, right?

"So, how was "dinner" with the family?" IV asks, making air quotations when he says dinner.

Another shrug. It was okay. I rest my chin on the palm of my hand, slightly bored.

He groans, "Can you like, not shrug and give actual replies that warrant actual conversation?" I roll my eyes. "I swear, you're seriously worse than Chris. And Chris is bloody impossible."

I shrug again, just to piss him off a little more, a small amused smirk paints my lips. "_I probably could, if you made more interesting conversations. Oh by the way, your English accent is coming out._" I type.

IV rolls his eyes in mock annoyance, "Oh, don't type at me in that tone of voice." He chuckles a bit before looking thoughtful. "Can an English accent even come out when you are speaking a language like Japanese?"

I give him a look, how am I suppose to know? Dummy.

"_Probably. I mean every other language has an accent._"

"Point taken. So, again I ask, how was dinner with your brother?" He asks once more, fingers drumming against the table top.

"Like I said, it was okay. We ate food and Cloud asked some questions. It was kinda fun, I guess." It would have been better if he didn't have to ask anything at all. I'm still a bit paranoid though, it isn't like Cloud to take such simple answers, but if he wasn't going to push me for answers I shouldn't worry. Right?

He gives me a strange look that I can't really decipher, but before IV can say anything, Mihael bursts into the room. "Nii-sama, did you take my- oh hey Yuki!"

I give him a two fingered salute which he returns with a bright smile and a tiny wave of his own. IV on the other hand, frowns. "Hey Fairy Princess, do you not understand the concept of knocking?" He says, fingers still drumming against the wood. It is getting a bit annoying.

Mihael makes a noise of indignation at the words, 'Fairy Princess'. IV glances my way when I make the smallest of giggles, a smile painting my face. I had to say, the nickname was rather fitting with Mihael's girlish looks and pink hair. "Look at what you've done now, she's laughing! Oh the dreadful terror! You've doomed us all now, Fairy Princess!" IV cries, ever the drama queen. He winks at me when I applaud a bit, still giggling.

Mihael gives a sheepish smile and pulls out a chair seemingly out of thin air. Both brothers seem to forget what they were doing before and engage me in a topic of why IV's being 'incredibly childish with such a petty nickname' in which IV retorts Mihael is being a wet blanket like Chris and ruining all his fun. I watch them amused by watching their antics. They argue back and forth whilst trying to get me one of their sides. Soon, they're just all out shouting at each other like little kids.

"Fairy Princess!"

"Creepy puppet collector!"

"Thumbelina!"

"Necrophilia lover!"

"Oh hell no, I told you never to bring that up again!" IV growls, looking ready to murder his younger brother. Mihael calmly retreats backward and gives a bit of a triumphant smirk. I don't think it'll last long though with the look IV was giving him. Definitely spelled out death if he said another word.

"Or else what?" Mihael says, taunting him further. Oh yeah, he's a goner.

IV is all but ready to lunge at Mihael when an angry voice comes from the other room.

"Shut up both of you!" Chris's yell echoing in the my headphones. I wince at the tone of his voice.

"He started it!" The two brothers yell back, pointing accusing fingers at one another.

"I don't care who started it. If I hear one more word out of either of you, I'll finish it." Chris says evenly. Oh god, he's like right outside of IV's door. Both boys give each other withering looks but Mihael quickly leaves the room, taking his cue to leave.

We sit in silence for a few minutes so we don't further incur the wrath of Chris. I don't even know why I'm scared, but then I realize this is Chris. The slightly more taller and refined version of Cloud. Well, that certainly explains a lot.

"Brothers." He says slowly.

I nod. "_Brothers, indeed._"

"So, how long are you staying up again?" IV inquiries. His eyes dance with mirth and curiosity.

I look thoughtful for a second, thinking of something to say. "Perhaps, when you actually let me sleep."

He chuckles, "Guess not for a couple more hours huh?" I shake my head. I guess not.

"_So, you're into necrophilia? Never would've guessed, Arclight_." I type out.

IV groans and says it's a stupid misunderstanding because Mihael doesn't understand the art of puppetry and how it's completely awesome. I roll my eyes, awesome is such a bland way of explaining one's passion in my opinion.

He gapes at me but proceeds to tell me all about his slight obsession. I find that IV can talk for hours about puppets and marionettes. Anything ghostly and dark such as buckets of gore and various torture methods also make the list. I don't know what I was expecting. IV's room had several puppets and dolls laying around and he always had this thing for all that is morbid and strange. Just didn't think he could ramble on for so long. I don't enjoy his particular hobby much but am curious about some parts and put in some of my own thoughts to this discussion.

Our talk is cut short when Cloud tells me to go to bed and we both realize it's two in the morning.

"Come over tomorrow?" He asks genuinely hoping I show up tomorrow. I can tell, he doesn't really talk to anyone about his hobby. I'm slightly glad I could do that for him, even though our views aren't the same.

IV is giving me a look that's begging for me to tease him. "_I dunno. Maybe I don't wanna see your ugly mug every single day._" His face falls and I sigh. "_Yeah, yeah. I'll be there_."

"Great. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, sweet dreams." IV grins, blowing me a kiss.

I scrunch my face in mock disgust before giving him a smirk and and a mock salute. I turn of my computer and stretch. I take off my headphones and place them on my desk.

Now for sleep.

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**Hooray! Chapter five is done! Some character development here and some nice family stuff there and there's your chapter five! I'm gonna keep this short and sweet and just tell you guys just to R&amp;R. Click that adorable Favorite button and make this bday girl a happy camper! Have an awesome week, month, day, life and stay amazing! :D**

**Later guys!**


	6. Sleepover

**Hey guys, how have you been? Lovely, I hope. Back again with another chapter. I'm rather glad with how chapter 5 turned out. I had lots of fun writing IV and Mihael's little banter. Considering that I'm not that good with familial relationships, I think it went rather well. What did you guys think? Any suggestions or prompts, you wanna see in later chapters. If so feel free to PM me or write it down in a review and I'll get to it. Anyways, onto the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal nor anything else other than my own characters and plot otherwise, there would be ships for days.**

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**Yuki's POV**

Most people would believe it was a pretty nice day out this Sunday morning, with blue January skies marked with fluffy white clouds and the sun out and shining, but I begged to differ, It was a tad too bright for my tastes. I suppose it just wasn't my cup of tea. Or rather coffee, I might say. Which I hadn't even had, before I was forced to crawl out of my warm bed so early in the morning.

IV, being the idiot that he was, decided to be my morning wake up call. Texting and calling me like there was no tomorrow, soon ending my peaceful slumber. Next time, I thought to myself, I would make him pay for waking me up at eight in the morning.

I yawned as I walked downstairs to make some breakfast. I blinked in surprise as I noticed that the lights were on in the kitchen. I was pretty sure they were off the last time I checked.

"What are you doing so early?" Ah, so that's why they were on.

Cloud was standing over the stove casually flipping some pancakes. He looked like he was still half asleep with his stormy onyx eyes half lidded as he flipped another pancake, cursing as it almost hit the floor.

I yawned and gave him a half committed shrug. I don't think I could ever get used to having Cloud here with me and Hana. He usually leaves after a few days, but it looks like he would be here for a while. I was torn with being happy that my brother was here with us and mortified that something was going to happen. I mean, good things never seemed to last with my family and I.

I shook my head. I really needed to stop being so negative and cynical. Happy thoughts I told myself.

"Wanna help? Or are ya just gonna stand there like an idiot?" Cloud's voice filled the silence.

I hadn't even noticed what I was doing until he had pointed it out. I quickly grabbed the apron off the hooks by the wall and tossed the extra one to Cloud who caught it easily.

"_You have pancake batter on your clothes. Late night?_" I gestured to his stained black t-shirt. He still had his lab coat on and he had a stethoscope around his neck.

He blinked and looked down, giving a sheepish smile as he tied it around himself. "Yeah, sorta." He shook his head as he saw me struggling with tying my own apron.

He crossed the small kitchen quickly and bent down to tie it. I bent my head to cover my embarrassment as I grabbed another pan from one of the lower cabinets and started on the eggs. Guess we're gonna go for another western breakfast again.

"What kind of eggs do you want for today?" He asked as he glanced over to me.

I gave him a lazy stare before I turned back to my work and proceeded to crack the eggs in a small bowl and added some cream to make them extra light and fluffy. Stirring the eggs with a fork, I mused at how normal this seemed, just me and him cooking together. Normal was good.

Cloud made a soft 'oh' when he realized what eggs I was making before going back to making the pancakes.

Figuring I needed to make some effort in conversation, I cleared my throat. My brother gave a sideways glance as he grabbed some plates from the cabinets with one hand and set them on the table along with the mountain of pancakes in the center.

He turned to me nonchalantly, body leaning on the table and hands propped against the table. He raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, what's up?"

I stopped stirring the eggs and turned to face him, "_Idiot wants me to come over to his place. To swim or something I think._" I sign.

Cloud blinks and runs a hand through his messy blond hair. "By idiot, do you mean that Arclight kid?"

I nod. What other idiot could there possibly be? IV was the only one I hung out with at school, well, other than his younger brother. Not like I could tolerate anyone else at school anyways.

"Is there anyone else going? Is Byron-san going to be there? Chris?" He asks.

"_Yes, yes, and yes. He wants me to come today, by the way._" I answer. I'm pretty sure someone else is going, that someone being Rio, at least the last time I checked my phone she said she was going. Byron-san and Chris would never let IV be alone in the house with us anyways.

"Lemme give a call to Chris just to make sure. If everything's good, I'll drop you off after breakfast. I'm going take Hana to the mall too. She needs more clothes. Do you need anything while I'm there?" Cloud inquires sleepily with a yawn.

I tap a figure on my chin, pondering his question. I don't think I needed anything, but then I remembered my ratty closet. Most of my clothes were really worn and I had begun to outgrow most of them since they were all from a couple years back. We didn't have enough money for us to go shopping so Cloud buying the clothes was as good as it was going to get.

"Pretty much everything. A couple t-shirts, some jeans, and I guess some undergarments please." I signed. I shrugged and went back to my cooking. I was never ashamed of saying embarrassing things to my brother, he was after all, a doctor. Clothes were the least of his worries.

He gave me look, but sighed nonetheless.

Breakfast went smoothly after that. Cloud prepared the bacon and I finished up the eggs, and when Hana came down, she finished setting the table and put the food on the plates for us. We ate in moderate silence before clearing the table when we were finished. Hana washed the dishes as I ran up to go get changed and pack my bag while Cloud phoned Chris.

I took out most of my school stuff out of my bag and placed a towel and hairbrush instead. I grabbed some blue swim shorts and an undershirt with some undergarments too. I would get the plastic bag for my wet clothes after I went back downstairs.

I changed out of my brother's oversized black t-shirt (I had a habit of stealing my brother's clothes whenever he annoyed me) and sleep shorts and into an All Time Low, Future Hearts t-shirt paired with some dark blue distressed denim jeans and black old pair of black and teal Vans.

I let out a sigh of relief as I noticed that the scars on my wrists were practically gone. Meaning I wouldn't be getting weird stares from my brother if I went without a long sleeved shirt for the day.

I grabbed the pair of Ray Ban sunglasses that I borrowed from Rio a while back and my bag as I went downstairs to find Cloud and Hana waiting for me.

"I checked with Chris. I'll drive you over to their place right now." Cloud stated before walking out with Hana.

I nodded and walked a bit behind them. I wondered why IV wanted me and Rio to go swimming at his place even though it really wasn't hot. The weather itself I noted when I walked outside was still chilly even though the sun was out. There was no way in hell I was getting into a damn pool when it's friggin' cold out.

Before we left I made sure I texted IV that I'd be there in a bit. I gave another yawn as I seated myself into the passenger seat of Cloud's car and hoped that IV wasn't wasting my time. Probably not though. He usually gave me some form of entertainment. Maybe it would be worth my time after all.

The drive to the Arclight home (mansion) wasn't too long. About ten minutes later we were pulling up into the expansive driveway. I rolled down my window when I saw IV walk bare footed over to our car.

The two toned haired idiot was dressed casually today. He had on tight fitting gray skinny jeans with one hand shoved deep into the pocket and a plain black V-neck t-shirt that accented his broad shoulders. He was giving me that smug smirk that he always wore and gave me a wave with his free hand, eyes gleaming with mischief.

"What?" I mouthed to the blond haired boy.

IV gave me an excited grin as he bent down to meet my eyes, resting his arm on the roof of the car. "Ready for the sleepover?"

I blinked. What in the fuck was he talking about? I did _not _sign up for a sleepover. Oh hell no… I whipped around to glare at my brother who just gave me an innocent look.

"Something wrong sister dear?" Cloud smiled innocently. I was so ready to punch that smug look off his face. Damn him.

Cloud suddenly leaned in close to my ear and whispered, "Douchebag's not coming home for a while due to some, ah how should I put it? Due to his drinking issues, he's being very well acquainted with a holding cell on the other side of town. In which I have no qualms leaving him there for, say until I get some answers from you."

I swallowed my fear and looked him in the eyes. It was in that moment that I realized what a bastard my brother truly was. He was probably savoring my fear like the sadist he was.

"But…" he began, as he reached over and unfastened my seatbelt with a _click_. "I can get what I want whenever, for now just enjoy yourself." Cloud finished with a smirk and patted head like a child.

Before I knew it, I was being pushed out of the car, waving to my brother in stunned silence as he drove away.

What the hell just happened? He couldn't possibly know what was going on. I flinched at the thought of Cloud finding out what was happening to Hana and me. Nothing was worse than when he actually pissed. Shit. What was I going to do?

"So that went well I hoped?" IV spoke up, breaking me out of my reverie.

I shook my head, glancing at IV. No point in worrying. I have more than enough time to figure out what to tell brother. Hopefully.

"C'mon, let's go inside the house. Rio's waiting for us." IV said before walking behind me and grabbing me by the shoulders and steering me towards the mansion.

I glared at him over my shoulder as I entered the home, giving a slight wave to the occupants before removing my boots. Byron-san and Chris give me both warm smiles before returning to quiet conversation by the kitchen table. I was a bit curious as to what they were talking about. Maybe it was work related? Probably. I'll ask IV about it later.

My blond haired companion tugged on the hem of my shirt and motioned for me to go upstairs. IV grabbed a huge armful of snacks from the pantry and followed me, taking two steps at a time. The room he brought me to was a couple doors down and more to the left from the game room where we played Mario Kart those few months ago.

When we hit the top step of the stairs Chris tells us, or IV more precisely, to leave his bedroom door open. The younger sibling cranes his head to stare at the elder and they lock eyes for a long moment before clicking his tongue and turning away.

IV rolled his eyes, but props the door open anyways. The room was rather…surprising to say the least. The interior was dark and gloomy, but I wouldn't put it past him to have a room like this. The walls were what looked like a dark purple blended with maroon, black shelves lined the colored wall with beady eyed dolls with mismatched body parts and puppets that seemed to follow movement sending me an eerie chill down my back. Without the creepy dolls, everything _seemed_ fine. Most of the other furniture and decorations were black in color or at least in a dark palette however. Black four poster bed with black sheets, black bookshelf, and black carpet and… Oh my god, look at that! A dark blue pillow on the black friggin' loveseat. How wonderful.

I gave IV the most withering gaze I could muster that silently said, I-question-all-your-life-choices-and-I- think-you-need-to-just-stop. He shrugged.

Great job, Arclight.

"I don't see why I need to keep the door open." IV grumbled, walking over to a small square table and dumping all the snacks onto it.

"Probably cuz you're a hormonal teenage boy with two girls in his room, all alone." Rio stated.

I blinked. I hadn't noticed Rio there, but she sure did stand out. She wore a blue abstract print dress that cut off at her mid-thigh and accented her brightly colored hair, contrasting the dark room. She padded over to me bare foot and gave me a hug which I gladly returned.

"Also, your room looks like it's either going emo or from a horror movie gone wrong." Rio added, tugging on the back of her ponytail. I snickered at the comment and nodded.

"It's not _that _bad. You just think it's all dark and gloomy because there's no light." IV countered, walking over to the window near his bed and pulled the curtains back letting sunlight flood the room.

I scanned the room again trying to see if what he said was true, which it was. The room brightened considerably, but the dolls still emitted a dark atmosphere.

"_The dolls and puppets are a bit freaky." _I commented, sketching one of the dolls for emphasis and showing my sketchpad

Rio gave an understanding shrug. "It's his hobby. The first time I came here and saw them I screamed bloody murder. Christopher thought Thomas was trying to rape me or something."

I stared at IV and wondered how he had such a strange hobby, but as I looked at the marionettes and dolls again, _really_ looked at them, they had a morbid beauty to the eeriness. I could sort of see why he liked them. They actually looked kinda fun to use.

"_They seem interesting."_ I replied, taking a seat on the floor and crossing my legs. Rio and IV followed my example and we all ended sitting in a weird triangle facing each other.

"Right? Rio doesn't understand _real _art!" IV grinned.

"Thomas, art can be defined differently by all sorts of people." Rio rolled her eyes. "Especially since my definition of art is way better than yours!"

I felt the corner of my mouth twitch upward as I watched them both. They bickered back and forth like a pair of siblings, much like how I often saw Rio and Shark argued before I changed schools. They reminded me of my own older siblings, of my own twin.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, unconsciously balling my fists against my shirt. The room's spinning and suddenly, I'm six years old again. The sky is crying and I can't find a way to make things better because Mama's crying. Everyone's crying. The other's point at me and mock, 'She's the one! She the reason why. The poor boy…'

My fault. My fault, my fault, my fault, **always my-**

"-ki! Yuki!"

I was brought back to reality as IV snapped his fingers in front of my face. Rio was looking at me concernedly with her hand on my shoulder.

"You okay?" She asked gently giving my shoulder a squeeze. "When we finished arguing we saw that you got all spacey and you were as pale as a sheet."

"Yeah, we were really worried." IV said frowning slightly. "Sorry. Too close?" He scooted away from me a bit when he noticed I was uncomfortable with how close he was to me.

I shook my head. "_Sorry…" _I signed bowing my head in shame not being able to look them directly in the eyes.

Look, that terrible voice in my head whispers to me again. You've done it again. You've caused trouble to those you call your 'friends'. What a horrible person…

I swallowed my fear and ignored my oppressive thoughts. I summoned my 'courage' and gave a smirk.

"_Hey. So what are we doing today? I didn't come all the way here for nothing_." I signed trying desperately to meet there eyes.

I bit my lip, my voice couldn't possibly reach them, it couldn't fill the empty silence that the room held at the moment but if I could at least make them happy then that would be fine. I would be fine. At least that's what I thought.

IV and Rio brightened at my gesture and I suddenly felt like a weight was lifted from my shoulders.

Rio coughed. "Well since we were having a sleepover, I'd figure we could watch some movies or something…" she trailed off.

"Buuuut? I feel like there's a but in there." IV chimed in, now slightly excited that our sleepover was finally going somewhere.

"But." Rio glared at IV. "I couldn't really find any movies that all three of us would like so I brought the 1st season of Arrow instead."

"Oooh nice. If you want movie, we can watch the ones that I have." The blond boy offered, grabbing some chips on the table and gave some to the three of us.

Rio glanced at me, "No thanks. Yuki completely hates horror and gore."

"What? Seriously?" IV exclaims looking at me as though I've grown a third head or something.

I roll my eyes. "_Yep. Just never understood the point of scaring yourself shitless_."

IV pouts but doesn't press the subject any further even giving me an understanding shrugs before returning to munching on his chips.

"_But what else do we do after we get bored of watching Arrow?_" I signed to Rio. I was genuinely curious about what people do at sleepovers.

"Don't normal people watch movies and gossip at sleepovers?" She answered unsurely.

"That's sounds boring." I mouthed. If that was what sleepovers were about, it sure didn't seem like I was missing out on anything.

"We could ditch him." Rio deadpanned, side eyeing IV with an evil glint in her eyes. "We could ditch him and we could go to the mall."

I stared at the blue and purple haired girl for a moment before catching on. "_The mall _is _only a mile or two away from here after all." _I mouthed linking my arm with her's.

"I've got the money."

"_But what about when we have to leave?"_

"Don't worry. I'll call Ryouga and you can sleepover at our place."

"_Well, it does beat doing absolutely nothing on a perfectly good Sunday morning."_

"W-wait a minute guys! You guys…You can't just leave me here!" IV cried looking very much like a kicked puppy. I kinda felt bad. Rio and I exchanged glances before snickering at the blond.

"Don't worry Thomas. Yuki and I were just kidding." Rio giggled, patting the taller boy on the head. "I just wanted to see what you'd do."

"You guys both suck." IV said glaring daggers at the both of us. He didn't seem very amused at our antic so I decided to indulge him a bit.

"_C'mon guys. Let's go watch Arrow so we all don't die of boredom." _I mouthed tugging on their wrists. Seriously. I've been here for half an hour and we've yet to do something entertaining. I didn't wake out of my cozy bed not to do anything.

With that in mind, I dragged my two friends- wait, when did I consider IV one of my friends? I mentally sighed. That was fine. IV...IV was different. Good different and now, I'd probably consider him one of my closest friends. A few months ago I would've probably laughed if someone told me that I'd become not only friends, but actually really close friends with IV Arclight but I now welcomed the new change in my shithole of a life. He keeps things interesting.

And of course while IV was the person I could trust with my dark secrets and amuse me, Rio was my rock. She would always be there for me. She grounded me and kept me sane. I couldn't unload most of my troubles onto Rio but she listened whenever I needed. She couldn't emphasize with me like IV did but she had been there when it all started and that was enough. I wouldn't know what I would've done if I didn't have Rio with me.

"IV!" Byron-san called from the front door, interrupting my inner monologue. "Chris and I will be heading out now. We will be home later tonight. If you have any problems, call me."

The aforementioned blond shouted a quick 'okay!' as the two older men nodded in both Rio and my direction before shutting the door.

Rio whistled, "Wow, I can't believe they just left us alone like that. If we were at my place Ryouga wouldn't leave Yuki and I for a second with you."

"Eh, Father trusts that I won't do anything stupid." IV replies with a shrug. "Besides, I'm sure you two would beat me to a pulp if I tried anything."

Rio and I glance at each other. "Yup." We reply in unison as I hold up my sketchpad.

The blond sweatdrops before giving a wary laugh. "So, uhh…Arrow?"

I roll my eyes as I seat myself on the leather couch in front of the huge flat screen TV. IV grabs some more snacks from the pantry in before seating himself in the middle next to me. I snatched the strawberry pocky on the coffee table away from IV before he could get it and gave him a mock glare. I teared the small bag quickly and snapped the strawberry coated stick in half with my teeth, mocking him. He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, waiting for Rio to put on the disc into the DVD player.

"_So_," I started. "_What were they talking about earlier when I came_?" I was still curious about what happened when I arrived. It was a trivial matter, probably and I was prying into someone's business that didn't involve me. Cloud called it my besetting sin. Which was funny because I definitely got it from him.

"Oh work stuff. I don't know. Something they're working with your brother for I think." He replies nonchalantly popping some chips into his mouth. IV props his bare feet against the table, leaning back on the furniture. "Rio, is it done yet?"

She glares at him before plopping herself onto the couch herself and presses play. "What do you think?" Rio says sarcastically as the opening inner monologue of Oliver Queen comes on.

"_Hey IV?" _I wrote on a ripped edge of my sketchpad and slid it over to him. "_Where's Mihael?" _

He glanced at the note lazily before passing it back. "Who?"

"_Y'know who I'm talking about."_

"Fairy Princess is at his friend's house or something. Yuma, I think his name was."

"_Cool." _I vaguely remembered the spiky haired teen from my earlier classes with Mihael. Always went on about _kattobingo _or something along those lines. Pretty funny to see him fall his face too.

"For a project or something. Won't be back until tomorrow after school." He continues passing the bag of chips to me, eyes not leaving the screen.

"_I didn't even say anything…" _I wrote, drawing a tiny angry chibi version of myself next to the words. I made the chibi version of myself with puffed out cheeks and crossed arms enhancing the 'cute' effect. I nodded in approval and grabbed a handful of chips before dropping the bag in his lap along with the note.

He snickered at the drawing before speaking, "You always have this look when you wanna ask someone a question or something."

I felt my cheeks tinge pink at his words. Did I really? I never noticed that before. Crap, that's embarrassing. Ugh, I blame Cloud for this. He was always telling me strange things when we were younger.

"_No I don't!_" I wrote angrily, still flustered. IV smirked and gave me a knowing look. I kicked him in his shin out of spite, feeling slightly better at his small yelp of pain before going back to watch Oliver evade his newly appointed bodyguard, John Diggle. Stupid IV…

Rio giggled at our antics and soon we were all laughing and partaking in the note passing in a fit of giggles, drawing all sorts of weird faces on my sketchpad and making chibi versions of ourselves. All of us hardly payed any attention to the show anymore unless we were watching Oliver kick ass and shove arrows into the bad guys. Or when Rio and I were totally shipping Oliver and Felicity together and staring at said vigilante's awesome six pack, which IV had said wasn't even that hot, but we both knew that IV had a man crush on the Canadian actor.

"I don't have a bloody man crush on Stephen Amell, dammit!" IV cursed in English slamming his fist onto the coffee table.

I smirked at the blond. "_You do, you really do. But then how could you not? It's Stephen Amell for Christ's sake!_" I teased the blond mercilessly causing him to flush crimson curse in a string of English. Huh, well someone's mind was in the gutter. Flipping to another page in my sketchpad I wrote, "_Nice, English accent by the way._"

"Uh, thanks? I think..." He replied unsurely, taken aback by my abrupt compliment.

"So what now?" Rio chimes in. "I love Stephen Amell and all, but we've watched like half of the season and I think we should watch something else." Hmm true. While The Arrow was entertaining it was getting repetitive since we've all seen it before and we are all caught up with all three seasons so far. What to do, what to do? Oh, I know!

"We could watch The Blacklist or something for a while or something on Netflix and play video games later?" I supplied. We weren't getting anywhere if no one was going to put out any ideas.

"Oooh yeah, and we have some board games in the basement too. I can run down there and get them after we watch whatever we're gonna put on." That seemed fun and it would take up a lot of our time as well, since it was barely twelve in the afternoon. I haven't played any board games for several years now so it'd be fun to see if I was still good at them.

"I'm fine with that. So are you guys fine with watching The Blacklist?" Rio asked chin resting on the palm of her hand. We nodded at the purple and blue haired girl. "'Kay." She spoke softly turning her attention to the remote.

"So what's the show about anyways?" IV wondered nudging me in the ribs while he nibbled a stick of pocky he stole from me. The bastard…It was my favorite too. I mean there were other strawberry pocky on the table, but it just wasn't the same.

I stared at the offending appendage before he slowly retracted it away from my side. Better. "A blacklist, duh." I tossed my head back and stared at the wall for a moment before I tossed what was remaining of my beloved pocky to IV. The sugary sweet just didn't feel right anymore. And now, I was a complete hypocrite. I had been keeping it away from the blond idiot for the past few hours and now I just gave it to him. What a waste.

IV opened his mouth to probably give a snarky quip to my comment but closed it after staring at the pink box of pocky. "You wanna share it? Or can I actually have it?" For an idiot he sure took my mood swings like a pro.

I shrugged. Eh, it didn't matter either way. Maybe the pocky just didn't feel right because I was full. Probably. I never had the biggest of appetites anyway.

He held the small rectangular box out to me expectantly. I took a stick and pressed it between my mouth breaking a small bit from it. He glanced at me before leaning his head on my shoulder.

What was he doing?

I tensed at the bodily contact. IV made semi decent company, but good Lord, did he have to be so touchy feely with me?

Apparently he did as he pressed a finger lightly against my cheek. "Hey."

I craned my head to look at him and immediately regretted my decision. His face, as it would seem, was just a tad bit too close to mine as I would've liked it to be. I cleared my throat before mouthing a quick 'yes?' God, why was Rio taking forever.

How awkward.

"How's your lovely day going?" IV all but spoke into my ear, lighter tone than usual. God, frick- seriously? Right in my ear too? I bit my lip so I wouldn't do anything unnecessary. It sure as hell wouldn't be lovely.

"_All sunshine and rainbows._" I wrote sarcastically, while I was internally screaming. If I could speak, I would've definitely stuttered. Stuttered and sounded stupid. Yup. That sounded about right. But instead, I had on one of the best of poker faces that made me look slightly bored at our exchange. "Yours?"

"Same. Even better cuz I have my adorable little sarcastic chatter box with me." He teased, breath tickling my ear.

Holy Fuck.

Oh dear lord if he didn't stop, god so help me… Oh my god, I don't even know how we got this way. All I wanted to do was be moody and give away my pocky. My goddamn pocky! And then this happened. Jesus Christ.

"_Little sarcastic chatter box?_" I mouthed, poker face slipping and my face definitely an embarrassing shade of pink.

What an ironic nickname.

"Mmhmm…" The blond muttered. His finally moved his stupid face away from my ear and was content with just resting his head on my shoulder. "I bet you used to talk a lot when you could speak."

Well, at least he was blunt. I frowned. "_Not really. I sang a lot though._"

Odd how I suddenly opened up about myself in this strange situation.

IV didn't look at me this time, but instead hummed a small tune under his breath. The song brought a small smile to my face as I hummed along with him. I couldn't get my head around what I was exactly humming along to.

"Finally found the stupid show!" Rio exclaimed proudly, sitting herself down and pressing play. She shot us a weird look. "What are you guys even doing?"

I gave a halfhearted shrug. I didn't even know anymore. I stared at IV's head on my shoulder. I didn't even care enough to shove his stupid head off.

* * *

This was so friggin' annoying.

I glared. I glared at the stupid plastic game board and hoped it would fucking burst in flames and die

Out of all IV's board games, he had to have Monopoly. And out of all of them he had to kick my ass at it. I had landed on a piece that he'd bought for like the 4th time in a fucking row.

I flipped him off and threw the money at him where it lamely fluttered in the air before falling down, not even reaching the smug bastard. I turned away and glared knives at the posh wooden floors. If only I could wipe that smug expression off his face then his ego wouldn't be so overinflated.

It turns out, I wasn't too good at board games anymore. In fact, I sucked. Horribly. We'd only played with like four or five of the ones that IV brought up and I had only won at poker, which really wasn't even a board game so it didn't really count. Rio pretty much won at all the strategy and skill games like chess and IV made up with what he lacked in pure chance and luck.

Rio coughed. "So I guess we're done with the board games."

I nodded slowly. We'd been playing for a while now. We'd finished watching most of the first season for The Blacklist a couple of hours ago, where IV promised he'd finish watching all two seasons later this week. I'm pretty sure he'd binge watch it for an entire weekend without any sleep; hell, without any breaks in general.

We all had dinner around the coffee table while we were still watching the show. I'd figured that I would cook everyone something but Rio and IV insisted that we just order pizza. I didn't really enjoy the idea of eating a huge, greasy pizza after all the junk that we've been eating all day, but I was sadly outvoted.

So after nibbling on one and a half slices of pepperoni and sausage pizza, and a shouting match between IV and Rio about who got the last slice of pizza later we finally got around to playing the board games that IV grabbed from the basement. Then chaos ensued. There was so much yelling that the both of them left my ears ringing.

"So what should we do now?" I signed over to Rio while picking up the scattered pieces off the floor. We'd moved everything up to the game room after dinner. Stifling a yawn I propped the old beaten boxes onto each other one of the tables for IV to bring down later. Man, it was getting late and by late I meant it was like eight and IV's family hadn't come home yet leaving the house deadly quiet if not for our rowdy laughter to fill the empty home.

"I was thinking we'd play this game I have in mind. I heard about it from some other girls at my school. Seemed pretty fun." If Rio said something seemed fun, it had to be pretty interesting. Not much could entertain the Ice Queen.

I turned to face IV who had, for the time being, taken to leaning against my shoulder again after I cleaned up the games. I have him a questioning sort of look which he just shrugged in response. Guess we'll just take that as a yes. Now I know why he gets annoyed when I just shrug and nod at him. I'd work on that.

"What's it called and how do we play?" IV asked, his head still laying on my shoulder. I didn't understand why he found it comfortable. I was pretty bony no matter what people fed me. Well, if he didn't wanna move and if he didn't bug me much I wouldn't mind.

"You'll like this Thomas. It's called Paranoia." Rio explained to the both of us, not caring about the position IV and I were in. "You whisper a question into your partner's ear and your partner has to say his or her answer out loud.

"Kay. So who goes first?"

"How about this," Rio proposes. "You ask Yuki, then she asks me, and then I ask you."

"Sure." IV replies, sitting up and stretching for a moment before leaning close to my ear.

"This one's easy. Favorite colors?" He whispers. Huh, and here I thought he was gonna ask me something super personal right of the bat, but guess not.

"_Teal and black_." I reply.

Rio narrows her pink eyes at my answer. "Part of me feels like Thomas asked a really perverted question but I know he asked something stupid."

I smirk as I think about what other kinds of questions IV could've possibly have asked and giggle at the thought. Rio certainly had her head in the gutter.

"_What was the stupidest thing your brother done in this whole week?_" I signed to Rio. I didn't have to have to worry about IV understanding my question because he didn't understand JSL in the slightest.

Rio looks thoughtful for a moment before deadpanning. "Well, there's…No that's not it. Oh! It's not stupid but it's pretty embarrassing. He got caught by a bunch of his fangirls and they pretty much mauled him. So basically he ran around the whole campus in only his boxers for like a whole hour until I forced them to give them back to him. I don't think he'll ever lived it down." Wow poor Shark Attack. At least he survived the Fangirl Attack from Hell.

"Wait, wait! Rio you said you'd never tell anyone about that!" IV cried.

I raised an eyebrow. "No, I asked about Shark Attack. But I guess I'll keep that as blackmail now." I guess this game was pretty fun. I got something new to use against the blond now too.

IV's tanned skin flushed pink at my words. Yeah, nice going idiot. He fidgeted with his fingers before muttering something about stupid games and stupid girls that made Rio laugh.

Rio said something to IV under her breath and I turned away so I couldn't read her lips. He looked pretty smug and smirked in my direction. Wait, what? Why in the hell are you looking at me for?

"Yes."

"Really? You're actually serious?"

"Mmhmm. Why wouldn't I be?"

I stared at them in silence, trying to figure out what the hell Rio asked IV about. Did it involve me doing something stupid? Why did he look so smug? The jerk. I really wanted to know what they were talking about now.

Ugh.

I take it back. I hate this game. Maybe they would-

"We're not gonna tell you." They spoke in unison with mischievous grins painting their faces.

Fuck. Stupid curiosity always gets the best of me. Whatever, I didn't want to know anyways.

We continued like this for a long while. IV kept asking me the weirdest of questions that seriously made me question his sanity or at least mine with how I indulged him so patiently. Rio kept making him blush when she asked him questions so I guess that was payback. Then the idiot thought it was a good idea to tackle me to the friggin' floor which started a mini wrestling match between the two of us. Rio simply gave up on us muttering something along the lines of 'too far gone' and 'deal with it themselves' before leaving us to go shower.

Which left us here.

Awkwardly staring at each other without a clue as to what we should do.

"She's gonna be there for a while, huh?"

"_Yep_."

"What now?"

"_Why are you asking me?_"

"Would you be okay if asked you a personal question?" IV suddenly asked breaking our momentary silence.

"…"

"If it makes you uncomfortable never min-"

"_Shoot_." Fuck it. IV couldn't possibly do any worse than Cloud will when I get home. He probably grilled Hana on the details already.

"How come your parents divorced?" He asked me. I blinked I expecting something worse but I guess I could tell him.

"_My dad- not my step dad, my actual biological dad, divorced my mom cuz he was always on tour in some country. They didn't have time for each other or my siblings and I, so they separated._" I explain. I mentally reminded myself to get a new sketchpad or at least something new to write on. I was running out on pages.

"He's military?" IV questioned.

I nod. "_A sniper._"

IV's reaction is priceless. The blond goes pale once he connects the dots. "Am I in trouble?"

I shake my head, laughing at his nervousness. "_You're good._"

He lets out a wary laugh and scratches the back of his neck. "Your turn. Since I asked you something, you can ask back."

I shrug at him. I don't have any particular to ask him. "How about your's?" I write on my sketchpad. I remember that his parents were divorced too.

"About the same reason as yours." IV says nonchalantly. "Do you have any other siblings?"

I give him another nod. "_Five older siblings_." I swallow a lump in my throat as I realize my mistake. I don't change my answer though. I do have five older siblings and nothing could change that.

"That sucks." He says automatically. I give a shaky smile and nod. Being the almost youngest did indeed suck.

"_How did you get your scar?_"

IV blinks at me, his hand grazing the cross shape scar over his right eye. "Oh, this thing? I got from that house fire that me and Rio were in. Not my best moment." He chuckles and gives me a wink. "But if anyone asks, tell 'em I got mauled by a bear or something awesome 'kay?"

I stare unblinkingly at him. He would do that. He really would do that. "_I'm pretty sure that would've killed you then._"

He rolls his violet eyes at me and waves away my claims. "There are plenty of people who survive bear attacks. Can you teach me sign language?"

"_Why do you want to learn so suddenly?_" I was slightly curious as to why he would ask me this. JSL wasn't something I thought IV would be interested in, not to mention invest his time in. Even I thought learning it was boring when I was younger.

"Sometimes," He begins, "When you write on your sketchpad, people don't really notice what you write and ignore you altogether. But when you sign, you're a lot more comfortable. If it makes you more comfortable, then I'll take the time to learn."

Wow. I couldn't really say no to that reasoning. Signing actually did make me a lot comfortable. If I kept writing on my sketchpad, by the time I would have had my answer people were on a totally different subject entirely. Or if they were really rude, they would just ignore me like IV said. I tended to fade away if no one really payed me any mind.

I nod, turning my face away so he wouldn't see my reddening cheeks. The last thing I need is the idiot making fun of me.

"_How did you get into puppetry?_" I ask, turning the subject onto something different.

IV flashes an excited grin. "This was back when they still hadn't divorced but, Father and Mother took me to this carnival and there were all sorts of games and stuffs, so I got all excited and I wandered off. I had no clue where I was and there were so many people." He explains, suddenly sitting up. "But then there was this dingy ass puppet show in the corner. No one was even there. The guy didn't even have a audience. But… But he was smiling and everything. He waved me over and put on a really cool show. I sat there for hours just listening to the guy spinning all sorts of stories till they came and found me."

I smile tenderly. "_It sounds like you had a lot of fun_."

"I'll show you one day!" He exclaims suddenly, fist pumping the air. Really, he looked like a little kid on Christmas morning with that silly grin of his.

"_So you'll actually put on a puppet show for me?"_

"No, no, no." IV says shaking his head. "I'll put on _the _puppet show for you."

"_I'll hold you to it then_." I laugh.

"Maybe you can perform something for me too." The blond winks.

I smirk. "_Yeah, definitely_."

Rio comes back from her shower minutes later and the night finishes off perfectly. We have a miniature pillow fight before pulling out the futons and calling it a day. It was an incredibly anti-climatic way to end our chaotic day. Or that was what I thought until _someone _started snoring away.

Great job, Arclight

* * *

**"What? An update? That just can't be possible. XxStarryHeavenxX never updates!" cries my viewers indignantly as they raise their pitchforks. Guys, I know. I suck at updating and after like 5 months of not updating, I give you this! There's even fluff! Awkward, nervous Yuki and IV fluff! And I even made the plot move a bit! Please don't hurt me. I'm a horrible, horrible person for sporadic updates, but it's finally here! I have to admit, I'm actually really proud of this chapter. I had lots of fun writing it out. Oh, and also, I've realized I'm in need of someone to beta my work since I suck at editing (sorry for all my crappy grammar/random forgotten words in the middle of the sentence), so if you're interested PM me. **

**Oh and headcannons? If you can't tell, I've been having waaaay too much time with tumblr. So if anyone has any headcannons/prompts they want to see in the later chapters, just PM me or drop a review.**

**Adieu~ **


	7. Omake I

**Hooray! Back again with a new chapter guys, and oooh this one's a dozy! A bit short, yeah but you'll like it (I hope). I decided to try something different this time, so I wrote in 3rd POV, and I actually kind of like it so the next chapters (excluding Chapter 7) will be in the same format as this one. Anyways, onto the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal**

* * *

**A few months ago, in October**

Yuki didn't know what she was thinking when she told her stupid blond haired friend that sure, he could tag along with Hana and her to go trick or treating. What she didn't think would happen was being dragged all around the city, in the freezing cold, in a _dress._

"It's not even cold." IV says with a roll of his eyes, turning around to look at me. "It's only 56 degrees out here." He laughs at the brown haired girl's apparent suffering. _You're not the one in a freaking dress, jackass…_ Yuki kicks the practically frozen asphalt with her boot clad feet and wraps her arms around herself, shivering from the cold. _I hope you freeze, Arclight._

Yuki takes a long look at herself and wishes she didn't go for the dress instead of the bodice of the dress is lace and flares out into a silk skirt, stopping just short of her knees. She decided against her black pumps and ditched them for her knee high combat boots that gave her outfit a more edgy look. On her collarbone lane a pearl necklace she had gotten from Rio and white rose adorned her hair that she had curled and styled to a wavy bob.

"_Too much?"_ Yuki asks using her sketch pad. _I really need to find better ways to talk to people...Wait no, I hate people. I'm fine. _

IV looks at Yuki up and down before smirking. "Nah, you turned Black Dahlia and made her sexy. The smile was a nice touch too."

Yuki gives a small laugh and brushes a finger against the bloody glasglow smile. _Well, at least I got some recognition. Took me an hour to get this done. The makeup too. _Yuki practically tore her hair out wondering on how she should do her makeup before settling on some pale foundation and smoky charcoal gray eyeshadow. Since she had the time she also added in some lacerations on her arms and chest to make her look more like an authentic Black Dahlia.

"_You clean up nice too." _ She writes, grabbing Hana by her arm while they crossed the road. IV had managed to make Edward Scissorhands look classy while clad in black leather. His normally messy hair was slicked back with pomade tonight, leaving only a few stray bangs framing his face. The cross shaped scar across his left eye seem to glisten under the fluorescent lighting of the streetlights.

"Why thank you, my lady." IV chuckles, violet eyes glinting with mischief before taking a sweeping bow. "But seriously, making these hands was so worth it. I can't believe how you actually made them for me." He extends the scissor like appendages with an awestruck look.

Yuki rolls her eyes. "Only because you wouldn't shut up about having me help with your costume this year."

A hand tugs at Yuki's wrist, and she turns her attention to her little sister who shoots an annoyed look at the older girl. "Can you guys stop flirting for like five seconds and let's go to the houses?" Hana points her finger at the huge mansions lined up the next block over.

Yuki raises a brow questioningly at her sister, ignoring her comment about flirting for the moment. _She wants to go there? _The brown haired girl groans internally. _We've walked everywhere already and she still wants more. _

They end up going to another five houses before Yuki finally puts her foot down.

"_Last house." _She signs, casting a stern glare at her sister who was busy munching on candies. Hana tries to win her sister over with her puppy dog eyes, but was shot down with a quick ruffle of her hair making the younger girl huff in a fit of mock anger before fixing the witch hat atop her head.

"Fine…" Hana whines, grabbing Yuki's hand while IV trailed behind them with an amused look on his face. Yuki grimaces as they walk closer and closer to the large house, blaring music and loud drunken slurs filled her ears. No doubt everyone in that house would be white trash wasted. Or worse.

_I swear to god, if this house puts drugs in their candies I will fucking castrate whoever owns this stupid place. _

She could vaguely hear the drunken laughter coming from the house and Yuki distantly thought for a moment that IV and his family probably lived a few blocks down of a brothel. It sure sounded like one when all you could hear were a bunch of moans and lots of drunk people.

Yuki really didn't Hana going near that house.

She heaves a sigh and pinches the bridge of her nose. _Fuck it. Let's get this over with. It can't be that bad. _Her hand reaches for the doorbell and she waits impatiently for someone to answer the door.

"Trick or treat~" Hana holds out her little bucket of treats, cocking her head to the side cutely. _Yeah that's right, kid, charm them and take all their candy. _Yuki thought to herself with a wry smirk on her face.

The door creaks open slowly, but the music and the yelling just gets more louder and more annoying by the second. A tall man opens the door dressed in a bloody clown costume and cheshire smile painted on his face, but it's the exact opposite of how he really looks. His eyes look bloodshot and his mouth is twisted into a scowl. "What do you want, you fucking brat?" The guy hisses, glaring down at Hana.

_Wow, _Yuki thinks to herself. _Not only do you have a shitty personality, I bet your fucking party sucks ass too, dickwad. _A pair of teenagers making out catch her eyes, and Yuki really wants to take her sister and run and-

Oh. _Oh fuck._

Hanako lets out a small whimper, before sprinting away from the house. Yuki's eyes widen in shock. _Clowns. Hana fucking hates clowns. _Yuki shoots a glare at the guy in the clown suit before grabbing IV by his hand and dashing after her younger sister, practically tripping over her own feet as she spots the younger girl curled up at the end of the block.

Yuki heaves a sigh of relief as she finds her little sister, letting go of IV's hand and slowly making her way towards the younger girl. She crouches down and pokes her lightly in the cheek, testing the waters.

Hana looks up with tearstained cheeks and wraps her small arms around her sister's neck, clutching her tightly. Yuki readjusts her hands as she picks her up and presses kisses on the top of Hana's head as she hiccups and sobs into her shoulder. _There there. You'll be okay. _

Yuki lowers the girl onto the sidewalk, but crouches down before her, meeting her eyes with her own and takes the witch hat off of Hana's head and places it atop her own. She takes Hana's hands with her own and mouth whispers, _"A magic spell for the crybaby. A magic spell to stop the tears."_ Yuki wipes away a few stray tears from Hana's face and gives a her a smile. _"Make the same face as me. Smile." _

Hanako sniffles a bit before wiping away her tears and gives a wide smile to her older sister. Yuki chuckles and gives her a sweet kiss on Hana's nose before patting her head once more and popping her witch's hat back on.

"I think it's time for me to get the princess back to her castle." IV proclaims suddenly, crouching down so Hana could climb onto his back. The sisters giggle at his words before Hana climbs onto his back wrapping her arms around his neck and hands her bucket of candy to Yuki.

"You make a horrible knight." Hana say between fits of giggles, pressing her chin to his shoulder.

IV mock gasps and places a hand over his heart. "You wound me, dearest princess!" He nods towards Yuki and they start back over to the brown haired girl's house. "And even after I kicked the asshole clown in the crown jewels for you!"

"Really?" Hana mutters sleepily, rubbing her eyes.

"Mmhmm. Right before your sister had me tripping all over my feet looking for you."

"Well, I guess you're not that bad then." Hana fights hard to keep herself awake, but she's just so sleepy and her feet are tired. "I guess you can have some of my candy then...But I still...don't like you...very much." She replies before falling asleep.

IV snickers. "Well that was fast." The blond casts a wary glance at his companion. "Er, you mind if I actually take you guys home? It's pretty late."

Yuki stares at the shimmering moon overhead, watching as the stars twinkle. She nods in appreciation. _Today has been a long day._

* * *

Yuki tucks Hana into bed, quietly mouthing a quick, "Sweet dreams." before kissing her forehead and making her way to the foyer. The whole house is deadly quiet, her brother and step bastard of a father nowhere to be seen. Yuki finds IV lazily leaning against the old leather couch.

"So, ya got any eggs?" He says, breaking the silence. "Nice place by the way." IV looks around the room.

"_Yeah, we're living a dream." _Yuki quips sarcastically with her sketchpad, grabbing the empty beer bottles on the table and bringing them to the kitchen. "We have some eggs, but why do you need them?"

IV rolls his violet eyes and crosses his arms. "I was thinking we could grab some eggs and trash fucktard's house."

"_Isn't that like, illegal?"_

"Yah. You scared?"

"_...That's perfect. I like the way you think, Arclight." _Yuki laughs, eyes gleaming with mirth.

IV smirks, "We ride at midnight then, my lady."

* * *

By midnight, Yuki and IV reconvene at the scene of the crime, little boxes of eggs gathered up in their arms ready to be chucked into gooey oblivion. The two share a evil smirk and duck behind some bushes to use as cover, just in case someone so happens to come out of the house.

"Ready?" IV whispers into Yuki's ear, opening up the first carton of eggs. Yuki nods and grips one of the eggs in her hand before letting her head to peek out from the bush and sending it flying towards the house.

They fall into fits of giggles as they send egg after egg soaring through the night sky, landing against house with a _splat. _IV gives Yuki the honors of throwing the last egg at the house and the brown haired girl is practically bouncing with malevolent glee. She couldn't wait for it to be morning and have all those people wondering who egged the house.

Yuki smirks and takes aim, wanting for the goopy substance to hit the door. They had gotten most of the front of the house, but they hadn't quite gotten the door just yet. She shuts one eye and counts down in her head. _One...Two...Three!_

She fires and it's just about to hit when-

Oh my god, is that who Yuki thinks that is. _Oh god, it is!_

Yuki knows she should feel some sort of shame from the act, but goddammit! She just pelted _Ana fucking Akemi in the fucking face with an egg._

And damn, did she feel good about herself.

"_I thought you said you didn't know who lived there!" _Yuki writes, hitting IV with her sketchpad as they flee into the night.

IV lets out a howl of laughter and grabs Yuki's hand to make her run faster. "I lied, but damn that was funny!"

It seemed like they ran on for hours, just running and laughing, only the two of them but before they knew it, they were already back at Yuki's house.

IV leans against the doorframe, clutching his stomach, sore from all the laughing. His other hand still holding on tightly to Yuki's. He sighs and gives her a wry smile, releasing her hand and brushing a stray lock of brown hair from her face. His eyes seemed so much more violet under the porch light.

"Happy Halloween, Yuki."

She gives a shy smile in return, face full of pink. _"Happy Halloween, IV."_

* * *

**HAPPY HALLOWEEN GUYS! I hope you guys got like tons of candy and even if you didn't, or you don't celebrate Halloween, I hope you guys have a happy Saturday at least and stayed safe from all the spoopy stuff! I didn't go trick or treating this year since I didn't have a costume, but maybe I'll get to consplay next year if I get the chance to. I did get to practice driving, which was like super scary. I am pleased to say that I did not hit any trees and avoided the graves! Oh and also, regular chapter is gonna be out next Saturday!**

**Hope you enjoyed this little extra chapter and if you just loved it, don't forget to hit that Review/Favorite button! It sure makes me one happy bunny.**

**Until next time, Adieu~**


	8. Rainy Days

**Hooray! Back again with another chapter, and it's still probably going to be late again! Guys, I think I have a serious procrastination problem, but then again, who doesn't? Mmm... I'm horrible. At least there's cute semi domestic fluff in this one? **

**Enjoy, lovelies.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal**

* * *

"God, is she like never gonna wake up?" A voice groaned in my ear.

"Not if you aren't doing anything to wake her up, she's not." Another voice hissed at the other. Why was everything so loud? I'm trying to sleep here.

I groaned and buried my face into my pillow. Too early to deal with these things. Need more sleep... I wrapped my arms around my pillow and tried to melt into the warmth of my blankets.

"Rio, what is she doing? We're gonna be late..."

"I have to do everything myself don't I?" C'mon, Yuki. Time to rise and face the day."

A hand grasped my shoulder and gently tried to shake me awake as I twisted away. Why was my pillow so damn hard?

I stifled a groan and brought my arm down on my pillow a couple times trying to fluff it out. Seriously, when did this thing get so hard? It wasn't like that when I was sleeping last night. Wait, when did pillows groan? Hell, when did pillows verbally abuse my ear?

"I swear to god Shiragane, if you don't get off me in like 10 seconds, I will punch you in the face…"

Oh you have to be kidding me...

I jerked awake and slammed my body forward. I groaned and clutched my head as it collided with another hard object. This is why I hate mornings.

I stared wide eyed as I managed to get ahold of my surroundings. Okay, Yuki. Pull yourself together. This is not your bed and this is _definitely_, not your house.

"I hope," IV's familiar voice hisses at me, rubbing his chin. "You had a nice nap."

His violet eyes glare at me as I try to force down my blush. I slowly edge myself off his lap and scramble behind Rio. Not the best course of action I could've taken, but hell, I don't even remember how we got in this mess in the first place.

Rio sighs and gives me a pitiful pat on the head. "Sorry, my bad. Guess I forgot to tell you."

IV raises a eyebrow and sits up straighter.

Rio runs a hand through her colorful bangs and answers the blond. "Yuki has a tendency to latch onto things when she sleeps. Basically, she's a huge cuddle bug."

I slump forward against Rio and wish the ground would just open up and swallow me whole already. Great going Rio. Now he'll never let me live this down.

Might as well kill me now.

"Oh really now? That's great to know." He says with a sly grin.

I groan again and throw my hands up in the air, fed up with how immature he could be. I make my way to the connecting bathroom and lock the door with a _click._

I rub my eyes sleepily and stretch out my tired limbs. Really. Whose idea was it to have school start so early anyways? My eyes glance over to the porcelain tub reflected in the huge mirror. I could kill for a hot bath right now, but Rio would give me an earful if I took any longer.

I turn on the faucet and let the cool water run over my hand before splashing the liquid on my face. I shiver at the cold as it hits my face, waking me up. I reach for the toothbrush IV lent me the night prior and quickly brush my teeth and give my face another splash.

I wince as I rub my face with a towel. My face scrunches up in pain as I massage my weak shoulder. It's been several months since I hurt my shoulder, but it never really healed properly. I guess I should have Cloud take a look at it, but really. All he would do is make a big fuss about it. Not to mention, give me a full blown checkup with x rays and everything. Now _that_ would be bad.

Best to keep my mouth shut for now, I think with a shrug. He's already so worried and has enough to deal with, work and all. Better not to cause him any more trouble than I already have.

I unlock the door and turn off the lights before lazily striding over to my friends. Who happen to enjoy screaming at each other so early in the morning.

I tap Rio on the shoulder. "What are you guys arguing about? We literally just woke up." I sign. Can't they at least wait until I have my coffee first?

Rio rolls her and waves her hand dismissively at my questions. "Thomas thinks hot cakes are better than waffles. _Hotcakes. Better than waffles!" _ Rio exclaims passionately, stomping her foot on the ground.

I raise my eyebrow curiously. So? I like hotcakes and waffles as much as the next person, but seriously? Food is food. And all food is delicious in my opinion. With the exception of any seafood, excluding shrimp, as it makes my insides want to stab themselves to death until I regurgitate them into a toilet bowl.

"Yuki," Rio says seriously, placing her hands on my shoulders, my body tenses at the action. Can people stop touching me? Rio knows about how I like my personal bubble. She ignores my light glare and continues. "Hot cakes or waffles? Choose."

I give her a tired look, but silently bend down to where I put my sketchpad and pencil last night, inwardly cursing her for giving me a headache so early in the morning. "Sadly, I have to agree with the idiot blond." I jerk my thumb towards said blond. IV fist pumps the air and gives me a high five, before gloating his accomplishment to Rio, who curses at him through his entire rant.

I pinch the bridge of my nose before giving them another exasperated look before heading down stairs.

* * *

Breakfast has almost always a quick affair at my house, even before the divorce, so it's a refreshing sight to see how lively it is in the Arclight home. Welcoming and warm, it's nothing like my own. I find myself yearning for familial warmth and comfort, but I know that's practically impossible.

I give a sad smile to myself as Byron-san eases me into a chair. IV and Rio join us moments, clambering down the stairs after Chris serves the miso soup and rice (finally, some actual Japanese food). IV gives Rio a playful shove before grabbing the tamagoyaki* from the pan and placing it on the dining table with the rest of food.

Rio slides in the chair next to me and slumps against my shoulder. The pink eyed girl groans about something being too bright. I shake my head, she was so awake earlier and now she wants to go to bed. Figures, this _is _Rio.

"Hey dad, is Mihael not home still?" the blond inquiries, snatching a small bit of the omelet with his chopsticks and pushing it between his lips.

"No," the older man says with a chuckle as Chris slaps the younger with a swat of his hand and pointed glare. "Mihael said that he would be going with Yuma."

"In this weather?" Chris asks, glancing out the window. The sky is downcast and it looks like it's about to start pouring any second by now. I wrap the button down IV gave me last night a little closer to me. Nothing ever good comes when it rains. I frown as I stroke Rio's hair as she leans against me.

Byron-san gives a shrug and the other two males sit down. IV sits across from me and Chris from Rio. Byron-san takes a sip from his steaming cup of tea.

"Ah, also." the ash blond man begins. "Your brother brought your uniform and lunch earlier this morning, Yuki-chan."

I raise an eyebrow skeptically. I didn't actually think he would have time, with work and all. I look down at the clothes I wore from last night. Yeah, no way the security guard would even let me past the gate. I probably wouldn't even go out in these clothes. I'd freeze to death first with this weather.

I nod my head in acknowledgement as I bring my bowl of soup up to my lips to drink from it, taking in the subtle flavor of the miso. Chatter fills the room, booming with laughter and playful arguments, unusual for so early in the morning. After ten minutes of trying to talk to me, Chris finally deduces that I need a cup of coffee after all my answers seem to be incoherent noises and I finally feel awake when the caffeine enters me, waking me up.

Rio leaves just after finishing her breakfast, but not before I give her back her sunglasses, and she speeds off into the distance with Ryouga on his motorbike.

"We should probably get going too." IV says, slinging his backpack over his shoulder.

I give a nod and I take my iron pressed uniform from IV's father, running upstairs to put it on, not wanting to be late for school. I peel off my makeshift pajamas from last night, shivering from the cold of the morning before putting my skirt and tucking in my dress shirt. I wind my tie around my neck and push my arms through the sleeves of my blazer, savoring the warmth.

I grab my own backpack and put my lunch for today in one of the pockets. I walk downstairs to meet IV at the doorway watching him as he fails horribly at riding my skateboard, practically toppling over and eating carpet. I shake my head in amusement and tip my chin towards the older Arclight's before pushing IV out the door.

I take my board from him and push it forward, towards the pavement and jump on it, feeling the crunch of the leaves beneath me. IV walks in front of me with his hands behind his head, a pensive look on his face.

"You think it's gonna rain?" he eyes the gloomy sky with dubious eyes. He turns around and looks at me, waiting for my answer.

I shrug. Maybe, but maybe not. It sure is cold though, but that's to be expected with January weather. A chilling gust of wind passes us, making my teeth chatter.

"Can I come over to your place later?" IV asks, picking up his pace. I shake my head rapidly before grabbing him by his collar and drag his ass towards the large gates of our impending destination. I grab my board from under me and tuck it under my arm carefully, shoving IV through the automatic doors and stumbling into the shoe lockers.

His back hits the metal frame of the lockers and he lets out a small 'oof' before glaring at me. "Why do you gotta be so rough with me? I'm delicate ya know." IV pouts and turns around to change into his school shoes.

I roll my eyes at him, but go to my own locker and do the same. _Oh it must hurt so much, poor baby_ I think to myself sarcastically. I grab my bookbag off the floor and give him a nod. He waves me away and I walk to homeroom without him.

* * *

I stretch my arms over my head and heave a sigh. Finally, classes are over for today. Today just seemed to drag on for the longest of times. Not to mention it was freezing outside, so IV and I couldn't even go out to the roof and had to sit in the cafeteria like everyone else…

Ugh… Just no.

There were way too many people in there for my liking. Call me anti-social or whatever, but it just sets me off, especially when they get all chatty and loud. It just makes my ears ring. I don't know how I can handle IV sometimes with how loud he can get.

Everyone heads out of the classroom to finish off last minute school chores* or handle their club activities. I, with my predicament, am not subjected to such. I sigh as I pack up my bag, savoring the quietness of the empty room.

I hum a small tune to myself as I pass some of the staff on my way out. I wonder if Idiot left yet, though he probably has. He almost always leaves early, either with his groupie or his brother.

I'm so ready for my afternoon nap, I mean, if you don't sleep a lot then you won't grow right? Though my brother says otherwise. Says I'm practically so short that there's no helping me or something along those lines. Um, if I was done growing, I'm pretty sure those five millimeters were just my imagination then.

That dick...

I shove my hands into my blazer pockets and keep my head down, ignoring the streams of laughter and pointless conversations that fill my ears. I plug in my headphones to get rid of the white noise and bob my head in time with the rhythm of the music.

I wonder what time Cloud will be back tonight. My mind is a bit more at ease without the looming threat of my stepfather hanging over me. Not like he'll be in jail forever, but last time I checked, drunk driving was a pretty serious crime.

I heave another sigh. God, I hope I don't have to deal with anymore shit for a very _long _time. I wave at a few of my classmates and give them a tight lipped smile while changing into my boots. Not to mention-

Not to fucking mention it's fucking raining outside. It isn't even raining lightly, it's _pouring _outside. My mood drops drastically with the sound of liquid falling onto asphalt. _Can this get any worse? _I think to myself bitterly. Lightning dances across the darkened skies and mocks me.

"Guess you got caught in the rain too?" IV says as he hangs the umbrella over our heads.

I nodded and fiddle with my sleeve for a couple seconds, unsure of what to say. He beats me to it though, saving me before I can even think of anything. "My dad- he says your brother called and said that he couldn't make tonight, so I guess I'm taking you home?"

I give another nod and a familiar mop of pink hair enters my vision. Mihael waves at me and makes his way over to us. "Did you tell Yuki-chan that we're taking her and Hana-chan home yet Nii-san?" the pinkette asks. He looks around us quizzically. "Actually, where is Hana-chan?"

The three of us exchanged worried glances between each other. I gave another sigh and all I wanted to do in that moment was face palm so hard. I couldn't believe I actually almost forgot about my own sister for a second there. I scowl and drag IV by the collar earning a startled yelp from the taller boy. I absentmindedly hear IV yell at Mihael to 'shut up and wait there!' and twists himself out of my grip while still sheltering the two of us with his umbrella.

"Sheesh, any tighter woman?" He grumbles and rubs his neck. "Well, the shrimp shouldn't be too worried. I mean, you're only ten minutes late."

I nod. Ten minutes isn't that bad, I just really hope Hana isn't standing outside waiting for me to pick her up like she usually does. It's way too cold out here in this kind of weather. I shiver and lean into IV a bit. I'll take any kind of heat at this point.

IV blinks and stops suddenly, stripping off his blazer jacket and handing it to me. "It must be pretty cold with you wearing a skirt, so, uh, here." He looks away from me, his sun kissed skin dusted with pink.

I feel my own face heat up and I quickly put on his blazer. The thing is all too big for me, swallowing my smaller form and the sleeves flop around so much that I have to roll them up. It feels a lot warmer though and I'm incredibly touched by the sweet gesture.

I sign the word 'cold' and point at IV which he denies with a shake of his head. He hums a small tune and we walk closer and closer to elementary school section of the campus.

Hana waits outside with a raincoat and a umbrella much to my relief and doesn't seem too peeved about having to wait for us to come and pick her up. She rushes towards us, splashing us with muddy water making her giggle.

"Hey Shrimp," IV greets with a ruffle of her hair. "Sorry we're late, we kinda had a change of plans and I'm taking you guy's home when my dad gets here."

Hana nods and takes my hand. "It's okay, I don't mind. Besides, guess what?" She asks excitedly.

"Hm?" I ask, half listening and half not. My eyes scan the rain pouring from the skies and I tug her along while she tells IV about her day. She skips along the wet concrete and twirls around like a ballerina, sticking out her tongue to catch the droplets of rain.

"...And then I kicked him in the stomach and then he started crying for his mom!" Hana says brightly. I cough and narrow my eyes at her. I take my eyes off that one for a few moments and she's already wreaking havoc on people.

Hana gives a wide grin and high-fives IV. "Great! I finally got your attention with what may or may not have been the truth!" She giggles and twirls a brown lock of hair with her finger. "And now that I have your attention, we can do this."

IV and Hana look at me with mischievous eyes that make me take a step back. Oh hell no, they better not do what I think they're about to do...They lift up their feet and splash me with the water from the puddles. I let out a silent shriek and run away from the two devils with them hot on my heels. The two of them throw away their umbrellas and chase me through the rain shrieking with laughter.

We somehow end up chasing each other through the rain that leaves us all drenched from head to toe by the time we get back over to Mihael. Of course, the four of us are scolded by their father moments later as he drives up the curb.

Hana is still shaking with laughter by the time we get back to the house. We say our goodbyes and the Arclights are off on their way soon enough. I usher Hana inside and I can't help but think rainy days can be nice sometimes too.

* * *

_Tamagoyaki- __is a type of __Japanese __omelette__, which is made by rolling together several layers of cooked egg_

_After school chores- Many Japanese students are expected to do after and before school, I.e. cleaning restrooms, cleaning the chalkboard, cleaning the school pool._

* * *

**At this point, I feel like I should stop expecting things from myself like actually meeting deadlines, but hey, made it before New Year's again. Hope you guys had a happy holidays and new year, even if you didn't do anything special. Fun fact, my computer decided to be a dick and broke down right after finals, but at least it's working now, I swear this story has more fluff than actual plot. Oh well, plot is gonna be next chapter. **

**Don't forget to hit that review/follow button on your way out if you liked it! Later, guys.**


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